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NORTH  CAROLINA  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY. 


J.  A.  HOLMES,  STATE  GEOLOGIST. 


BULLETIN  No.  3. 


GOLD  DEPOSITS  OF  NORTH 
CAROLINA. 


BY 


HENRY  B.  C.  NITZE 


AND 


GEORGE  B.  HANNA. 

c 


full  0 

WINSTON: 

M.  I.  & J.  C.  Stewart,  Public  Printers. 
1896. 


'T . 

CONTENTS.  w,  3 

-3 


PAGE. 


A .ILLUSTRATIONS 10 

Letter  of  Transmittal 11 

Preface 12 


Chapter  I.— The  Gold  Producing  Area  and  Its  Development.  15 


Area  of  the  gold-bearing  rocks 15 

Historical  notes 16 

Gold  and  silver  produced  in  North  Carolina 17 

Character  and  fineness  of  gold  and  silver 18 

The  gold-bearing  rocks 20 

Structure  of  the  ore  deposits 21 


Influence  of  weathering  agencies  on  the  ore  bodies, 


Chapter  II.— The  Eastern  Carolina  Belt 24 

General  description 24 

Gold  deposits  and  mines  in  the  Eastern  Carolina  belt 25 

The  Mann-Arrington  mine 26 

The  Arrington  mine 27 

The  Conyers  mine 27 

Chapter  III.— The  Carolina  Slate  Belt..... 28 

Character  and  age  of  the  rocks 28 

Emmons’  Taconic  system  in  North  Carolina 28 

The  Lower  Taconic 30 

The  Upper  Taconic . 31 

Kerr’s  Huronian  system  in  central  North  Carolina 32 

Results  of  more  recent  petrographic  studies 33 

The  slates  and  schists 33  ' 

The  Monroe  slates 36 

Quartz  rocks — The  volcanic  series 37 

Conclusions 43 

The  genesis  of  the  gold  ores 44 

(1.)  The  nature  of  the  deposits 44 

(2.)  The  causes  of  the  formation  of  the  spaces  occupied  by  the  ore  45 

The  manner  of  filling  the  fissure  openings 47 

Age  of  the  ore  deposits 51 

Chapter  IV.— Ore  deposits  and  mines  in  the  Carolina  Slate 

BELT 52 

Mines  in  Granville  and  Person  counties 52 

Alamance,  Orange,  and  Chatham  counties 53 

Moore  county 54 

The  Burns  (or  Burns  and  Aired)  mine 55 

The  Cagle  mine 56 

The  Clegg  mine 56 


? \ l % \0 


4 


CONTENTS. 


Chapter.  IV —Continued. 

Moore  county — Continued.  page. 

The  Brown  mine 56 

Randolph  county 56 

The  Hoover  Hill  mine 56 

The  Wilson  Kindley  mine 57 

The  Jones  (or  Keystone)  mine 57 

The  Parish  mine 59 

The  Lafflin  (or  Herring)  mine 59 

The  Delft  mine 59 

The  Winningham  mine 59 

The  Slack  mine 59 

The  Davis  Mountain  mine 59 

The  Sawyer  mine 59 

The  Winslow  mine 60 

The  Uharie  mine 60 

Davidson  county 60 

The  Emmons  (or  Davidson)  mine 60 

The  Cid  mine . 60 

The  Silver  Hill  mine 61 

The  Silver  Valley  mine 66 

The  Welborn  (Smith)  mine 68 

The  Conrad  Hill  mine 68 

Montgomery  county 74 

The  Russell  mine 74 

The  Appalachian  (or  Coggins)  mine 76 

The  Morris  Mountain  (Davis  or  Dutton)  mine 76 

The  Riggon  Hill  mine 77 

The  Steel  mine 77 

The  Saunders  mine 77 

The  Beaver  Dam  mine 78 

The  Moratock  mine 79 

The  Reynolds  mine SO 

The  Carter  mine 80 

The  Sam  Christian  mine 80 

Mines  in  Stanly  county 82 

The  Haithcock  mine 82 

The  Hearne  mine 82 

The  Lowder  mine 82 

The  Crawford  (or  Ingram)  mine 82 

The  Parker  mine 83 

The  Crowell  mine. 84 

The  Barringer  mine 85 

Mines  in  Rowan  and  Cabarrus  counties 85 

The  Gold  Hill  group  of  mines 85 

The  Randolph  vein,  the  Gold  Hill  mine 87 

The  Barnhardt  vein 88 

The  Old  Field  vein SS 


CONTENTS. 


5 


Chapter  IV—  Continued. 

Rowan  and  Cabarrus  county — Continued.  PAGE. 

The  Hunnicut  vein _ 88 

The  Standard  vein 88 

The  Troutman  vein 88 

The  McMakin  vein 89 

Other  mines  in  Cabarrus  county 91 

The  Mauney  mine 91 

The  Isenhour  mine 91 

The  Rocky  River  mine 91 

The  Buffalo  mine 93 

The  Allen  Purr  mine 93 

The  Nugget  (or  Biggers)  mine 94 

Mines  in  Union  county 94 

The  Crowell  mine 94 

The  Long  mine 95 

The  Moore  mine 95 

The  Stewart  mine 96 

The  Lemmonds  (or  Marion)  mine 97 

The  New  South  mine 98 

The  Crump  mine 98 

The  Butterfield  mine 98 

The  Henry  Phifer  mine 98 

The  Fox  Hill  mine r. 99 

The  Black  mine 99 

The  Smart  mine 99 

The  Secrest  mine.- 100 

The  Moore  Hill,  Folger  Hill,  Davis,  Phifer,  Lewis,  Heinby 

group  of  mines 100 

The  Moore  Hill  mine 102 

The  Davis  mine 102 

Folger  Hill 102 

The  Phifer  (or  Price)  mine 102 

The  Lewis  mine 103 

The  Hemby  mine 103 

The  Harkness  mine 103 

The  Bonnie  Belle  and  Howie  group 103 

The  Bonnie  Belle  (or  Washington)  mine 104 

The  Howie  mine 104 

Anson  county 106 

The  Hamilton  (Bailey)  mine 106 

The  Jesse  Cox  mine 106 

Chapter  V.— The  Carolina  Igneous  Belt  and  its  Gold  De- 
posits  107 

General  description  of  the  belt 107 

Geologic  characteristics 107 

The  ore  deposits  of  the  Carolina  Igneous  belt 108 

The  mines  in  the  Carolina  Igneous  belt 110 


6 


CONTENTS. 


Chatter  V—  Continued. 

PAGE. 

Mines  in  Guilford  county 110 

The  Hodges  (or  Hodgins)  Hill  mine 110 

The  Fisher  Hill  mine 110 

The  Millis  Hill  mine 110 

The  Twin  mine Ill 

The  North  Carolina  (or  Fentress)  mine Ill 

The  Gardner  Hill  mine 112 

The  North  State  (or  McCullough)  mine 1 114 

The  Deep  River  mine 115 

The  Lindsay  mine 116 

The  Beason,  Harland,  Beard,  Vickery,  Lauder,  Eudy,  and 

Ball  mines 116 

Mines  in  Davidson  county 116 

The  Lalor  (or  Allen)  mine..., 116 

The  Loftin  mine 117 

The  Eureka  mine . 117 

The  Black  mine 117 

Mines  in  Rowan  county 117 

The  New  Discovery  mine 117 

The  Dunns  Mt.  mine 117 

The  Reimer  mine 118 

The  Bullion  mine 120 

The  Gold  Knob  mine 120 

The  Dutch  Creek  mine 120 

The  Atlas  mine 121 

The  Bame  mine 121 

Cabarrus  county 121 

The  Phoenix  mine 121 

The  Barrier  mine 122 

The  Furness  mine 123 

The  Gibb  mine 1 123 

The  Faggart  mine 123 

The  Barnhardt  mine 123 

The  Tucker  (or  California)  mine 123 

The  Quaker  City  mine 123 

The  Reed  mine 124 

The  Pioneer  Mills  mine 125 

Mecklenburg  county 125 

The  Davidson  mine 126 

The  Point  mine 126 

The  Rudisil  mine 126 

The  St.  Catherine  (Charlotte)  mine 129 

The  Smith  and  Palmer  mine 131 

The  Howell  mine 131 

The  Taylor  mine 131 


CONTENTS. 


7 


•Chapter  V — Continued . 

Mecklenburg  county — Continued.  page. 

The  Trotter  mine 131 

The  Clark  mine 132 

The  Parks  mine 132 

The  Brawley  mine : 132 

The  Todd  mine 133 

The  Arlington  mine 133 

The  Stephen  Wilson  mine 133 

The  Capps  mine 133 

The  McGinn  mine 137 

The  Means  mine 138 

The  Hopewell  (or  Kerns)  mine 139 

The  Green  C.  Cathey  mine 139 

The  Sloan  mine 139 

The  Chapman  (or  Alexander)  mine 139 

The  Dunn  mine 140 

The  Cathey  mine 141 

The  McCorkle  mine 141 

The  Henderson  mine 141 

The  John  P.  Hunter  mine 142 

The  Ferris  (or  Faires)  mine 142 

The  Hunter  mine 143 

The  Tredinick  mine ; 143 

The  Ray  mine .’. 143 

The  Simpson  mine 144 

The  Black  mine , 144 

The  Surface  Hill  mine „ 145 

The  A.  J.  Wilson  mine 145 

Chapter  VI. — The  Kings  Mountain  Belt  and  its  Gold  Deposits.  146 

Gaston  county 146 

The  Kings  Mountain  (or  Catawba)  mine 146 

The  Crowder's  Mountain  (or  Caledonia)  mine 147 

The  Patterson  mine 148 

The  Rhodes  mine 148 

The  McLean  (or  Rumfeldt)  mine 148 

The  Duffie  mine 148 

The  Robinson  mine 148 

The  Derr  mine 148 

The  Rhyne  mine 148 

The  Burrell  Wells  mine 149 

The  Oliver  mine 149 

The  Farrar  mine 149 

The  Long  Creek  mine 149 

Lincoln  county 150 

The  Hoke  mine 150 


8 


CONTENTS. 


Chapter  VI— Continued. 

Lincoln  county — Continued.  page. 

The  Graham  mine 150 

Catawba  county 150. 

The  Shuford  mine 150 

The  A.  D.  Shuford  mine 150 

Davie  county 151 

The  Butler  (or  County  Line)  mine 151 

The  Isaac  Allen  mine 151 

Yadkin  county 151 

The  Dixon  mine 151 

Chapter  VII.— The  South  Mountain  Belt  and  its  Gold  De- 
posits  152 

General  description  of  the  region 152 

Topographic  features  of  the  region 152 

Historical:  The  Bechtler  coinage 153 

General  geologic  and  petrographic  notes 154 

The  gold-bearing  quartz  veins 158 

Distribution  of  the  quartz  veins 159 

The  value  of  the  quartz  veins 160 

Methods  of  working  the  quartz  vein  deposits 160 

The  placer  deposits 161 

Distribution  of  the  placer  deposits 162 

Value  of  the  placer  deposits 162 

Methods  of  working  the  placer  deposits 163 

Water  supply  for  placer  mining 163 

Description  of  the  gold  deposits  and  mines  in  the  South  Mountain 

region 164 

Burke  county 164 

The  Hancock  mine 164 

The  Carolina  Queen  mine 164 

The  Hodge  pi-operty 165 

The  J.  C.  Mills  property 165 

McDowell  county 166 

The  Marion  Bullion  Co 166 

The  Vein  Mountain  property 168 

Rutherford  county 169 

The  Alta  (Monarch  or  Idler)  mine 169 

The  Ellwood  mine 170 

The  Leeds  mine 170 

Conclusions  and  recommendations  as  to  mining  operations  in  the 

South  Mountain  region 170 

Areas  still  available  for  mining. 170 

Improvement  in  working  methods 171 

Treatment  of  clay  balls — “ sluice  robbers  ” 171 

Improvement  of  water  conduits 171 

Disposition  of  the  tailings 172 


CONTENTS. 


9 


Chapter  VII — Continued. 

PAGE. 

Monazite  deposits  of  the  South  Mountain  region 172 

Deep  mining  in  the  South  Mountain  region 173 

Description  of  mines  in  other  portions  of  the  general  South  Moun- 
tain belt : 173 

Polk  county 173 

The  Prince  mine 174 

The  Red  Spring  mine 174 

The  Double  Branch  property 174 

The  Smith  mine 174 

Burke  county 175 

The  Brown  Mountain  mine 175 

Caldwell  county 175 

The  Miller  mine 176 

The  Scott  Hill  mine 176 

The  Pax  Hill  mine 176 

The  Baker  mine 177 

Old  Miller  mine 177 

Bald  Knob  mine 177 

Francis  mine , 177 

The  Bee  Mountain  mine 178 

Wilkes  county 178 

Flint  Knob 178 

Bryan’s  Gap 179 

Chapter  VIII.— The  Gold  Deijosits  West  of  the  Blue  Ridge....  180 

Ashe  county ISO 

The  Copper  Knob  (or  Gap  Creek)  mine 180 

Watauga  county 181 

Buncombe  county 181 

Henderson  county 181 

The  Boylston  mine 181 

Jackson,  Transylvania  and  Macon  counties 191 

Cherokee  county 192 

Index 195 

Errata 199- 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Plate  I.  Map  showing  the  distribution  of  the  gold  deposits  of  North 

Carolina Frontispiece. 

II.  Silver  Hill  mine,  vertical  sections  of 62 

III.  Silver  Hill  mine,  longitudinal  vertical  section 62 

IV.  Russell  mine,  Big  cut 75 

V.  Sam  Christian  mine,  gravel  and  quartz  veins 82 

VI.  Gold  Hill  district,  map  of  veins 87 

VII.  Gold  Hill  mine,  Randolph  vein 87 

VIII.  Gold  Hill  mine,  Barnhardt  vein 88 

IX.  Phoenix  mine,  Phoenix  vein 121 

X.  Rudisil  mine,  v.ertical  section 127 

XI.  McGinn  mine,  gold  and  copper  veins 138 

XII.  Map  of  the  South  Mountain  region 152 

XIII.  Amphibolite  and  pyroxenite  blebs... , 157 

XIV.  Hancock  mine,  general  view 164 

Figure  ' 1.  Incrustation  at  the  Mooi-e  mine 50 

2.  Bending  of  schists,  Belle  mine 54 

- 3.  Plan  of  veins,  Conrad  Hill  mine 69 

- 4.  Rocky  River  mine,  topographic  map  of 92 

■ 5.  Fi-agments  of  schists  in  vein  matter 95 

• 6.  Sketch  map  of  location  of  Davis,  Phifer,  &c.,  mines 101 

8.  Structure  of  vein,  Gardner  Hill  mine 113 

- 9.  Vei'tical  section  of  Reirner  mine 118 

10.  Cross  section,  Reirner  vein 119 

11.  Cross  section,  Rudisil  vein 127 

12.  Capps  and  McGinn  mining  tracts 134 

• 13.  McGinn  mine,  Copper  vein 137 

*14.  Cross  section.  Means  mine 138 

15.  Map  of  location  of  Miller,  Scott-Hill,  &c.,  mines 176 

■ 16.  Map  of  location  of  Boylston  veins 182 

17.  Plan  of  drifts,  &c.,  Boylston  mine 187 

18.  Section  on  vein,  drift  No.  5,  Boylston  mine 188 

19.  Section  on  vein  No.  4,  Boylston  mine 189 


LETTER  OF  TRANSMITTAL. 


Raleigh,  N.  C.,  Nov.  30,  1895. 

To  His  Excellency , Hon.  Elias  Carr, 

Governor  of  North  Carolina. 

Sir  : — I have  the  honor  to  submit  for  publication  as  Bulletin  3 
of  the  Geological  Survey,  a preliminary  report  on  the  Gold  Deposits 
of  North  Carolina;  prepared  by  Mr.  Henry  B.  C.  Nitze,  of  the 
Geological  Survey,  and  Mr.  George  B.  Hanna,  of  the  U.  S.  Assay 
office  at  Charlotte.  There  are  many  enquiries  for  information 
concerning  the  gold  deposits  of  the  State,  and  in  response  to  these 
I recommend  the  publication  of  this  Bulletin. 

Yours  obediently, 

J.  A.  Holmes, 

State  Geologist. 


PREFACE. 


This  preliminary  report  owes  its  appearance  to  the  fact  that 
■during  the  past  few  years  there  has  been  agrowing  interest  in  the 
South  Appalachian  gold  fields,  and  the  resulting  inquiries  have 
shown  that  mining  operations  in  many  portions  of  this  region  are 
in  an  exceedingly  unsatisfactory  condition,  and  that  there  were 
hut  few  publications  to  be  found  relating  to  the  subject, — and  these 
of  a somewhat  unsatisfactory  character. 

With  a view  of  helping  to  remedy,  as  far  as  might  be  possible 
this  state  of  affairs,  a preliminary  investigation  was  undertaken  by 
the  United  States  Geological  Survey,  of  this  gold  region  as  a 
whole,  and  investigations  have  also  been  undertaken  by  the  Geo- 
logical Surveys  of  several  of  the  states  included  in  this  area. 
Results  of  the  investigations  undertaken  for  the  U.  S.  Geological 
Survey  by  Mr.  Geo.  F.  Becker,  and  the  preliminary  results  obtained 
by  the  State  Survey  in  Alabama  have  been  published.  Several 
years  ago  (1887)  a paper  on  the  gold  deposits  and  mines  in  Xorth 
Carolina  was  also  published,  but  this  discussion  of  the  subject  is 
now  nearly  out  of  print.* 

During  the  past  two  years  a study  of  the  Xorth  Carolina  gold 
fields  has  been  made  by  Mr.  EL.  B.  C.  Xitze  of  the  State  Geological 
Survey,  and  by  Mr.  Geo.  B.  Hanna  of  the  United  States  Assay 
Office  at  Charlotte,  at  such  times  as  he  could  be  absent  from  his 
duties  there.  The  extent  and  nature  of  their  work  is  described  in 
more  detail  below.  During  the  past  year  Mr.  Xitze,  assisted  by 
Mr.  H.  A.  J.  Wilkens  of  Baltimore,  has  visited  practically  ail  of 
the  mines  now  in  operation  in  the  South  Appalachian  gold  field 
for  the  purpose  of  studying  the  mining  and  metallurgical  methods 
in  use.  A statement  of  the  results  of  their  investigations  was  pre- 
sented at  the  Atlanta  meeting  of  the  American  Institute  of  Min- 
ing Engineers  (October,  1895),  and  is  now  being  printed  in  the 
Transactions  of  the  Institute.  A more  elaborate  report  by  them 
on  this  subject  will  be  shortly  published  as  one  of  the  bulletins  of 
this  survey. 


*“The  Ores  of  North  Carolina” : being  chapter  2 of  the  2nd  volume  of  the  Geology  of 
North  Carolina,  by  W.  C.  Kerr  and  Geo.  B.  Hanna,  Raleigh,  1887.  pp.  233-359. 


PREFACE. 


13 


With  a view  to  the  preparation  of  the  present  report  on  the 
Gold  Deposits  of  North  Carolina,  Mr.  Nitze  began  field  explora- 
tions in  the  spring  of  1894.  During  the  latter  part  of  May  and 
June  some  preliminary  examinations  were  made  in  Stanly,  Rowan, 
Cabarrus,  Mecklenburg,  Gaston,  and  Chatham  counties.  From 
the  end  of  June  to  the  beginning  of  November  field  work  was 
pursued  in  the  South  Mountain  region,  embracing  the  counties  of 
Burke,  McDowell  and  Rutherford.  This  work  was  also  extended 
into  Henderson,  Caldwell  and  Wilkes  counties. 

During  the  month  of  November,  Mr.  Nitze  was  accompanied  by 
Mr.  Geo.  F.  Becker,  and  the  latter’s  assistant,  Mr.  C.  W.  Puring- 
ton,  of  the  U.  S.  Geological  Survey,  on  a reconnaisance  trip  through 
Union,  Cabarrus,  Rowan,  Montgomery,  Davidson,  Randolph, 
Moore,  Chatham,  Franklin  and  Nash  counties.  During  the  win- 
ter of  1894-’95  he  was  engaged  in  writing  up  the  results  of  his 
field  work,  and  in  making  a petrographic  study  of  a number  of 
rock  specimens  collected  in  the  course  of  the  field  explorations. 
This  work  was  pursued  at  the  offices  of  the  U.  S.  Geological  Sur- 
vey in  Washington,  D.  C.,  where  he  had  the  cordial  assistance  of 
Mr.  Becker  and  his  associates. 

The  time  in  which  it  has  been  necessary  to  prepare  the  report 
of  his  work,  together  with  other  duties,  did  not  allow  of  a micro- 
scopic examination  of  all  the  specimens  collected,  and  some  work 
still  remains  to  be  done  in  that  direction.  During  the  summer  of 
1895,  investigations  were  continued  in  the  field,  prior  to  the  final 
writing  of  this  report. 

Mr.  Geo.  B.  Hanna,  of  the  U.  S.  Assay  Office  at  Charlotte,  pre- 
pared a complete  revision  of  the  section  on  Gold  Ores  in  “The 
Ores  of  North  Carolina,”  and  has  added  in  this  revision  the  results 
of  his  field  observations  in  the  gold  belts  made  during  the  past 
few  years. 

In  order  to  bring  together  all  the  available  data  concerning  the 
several  gold  bearing  regions,  it  was  necessary  to  combine  these  two 
reports,  and  this  somewhat  difficult  task  was  assigned  to  Mr.  Nitze, 
who  has  brought  together  the  subject  matter  of  the  two  manu- 
scripts in  such  a way  as  to  present  the  most  logical  arrangement 
of  the  subject.  In  the  report  as  published,  the  geological  descrip- 


14 


preface. 


tions  and  discussions  are  solely  his.  The  descriptions  of  the 
mines  are  in  part  his,  in  part  Mr.  Hanna’s,  in  part  a consolidation 
of  the  statements  of  both. 

Many  of  the  facts  contained  in  these  descriptions,  relating  to- 
the  old  mine  workings,  thickness  of  the  ore  bodies,  etc.,  have  been 
obtained  from  the  personal  statements  of  superintendents  of  the 
mines,  foremen,  miners,  etc.,  and  the  authors  do  not  hold  them- 
selves responsible  for  these.  The  majority  of  the  mines  described 
are  not  in  active  operation  ; most  of  them  being  at  the  present 
time  in  an  abandoned  and  inaccessible  condition.  Unless  otherwise 
stated  in  this  report,  the  mines  described  are  not  now  being  worked. 

It  is  well  known  that  assays  of  gold  ores  are  of  little  impor- 
tance as  showing  the  working  value  of  an  ore  body,  unless  very 
large  quantities  can  be  properly  sampled  in  a sampling  works,  of 
which  there  are  none  in  the  South.  The  readers  are,  therefore, 
warned  not  to  be  misled  by  assays  that  are  given  in  this  report ; 
they  are  given  to  show  comparative  approximate  values,  or  vari- 
ations in  different  parts  of  the  same  ore  body.  Though  it  ought 
to  be  said  that,  excluding  the  high  grade  assays,  many  of  the 
samples  represent  fairly  well  actual  ore  bodies  of  greater  or  less 
magnitude.  The  only  safe  criterion  of  the  value  of  an  ore  is  a 
mill  test. 

Unless  otherwise  stated,  the  assays  given  in  this  report,  have 
been  made  by  Mr.  Hanna.  The  gold  and  silver  have  been  valued 
at  their  coining  rates,  viz  : Gold  $20.67  per  fine  ounce,  aud  Silver 
$1,293  per  fine  ounce.  This  is  plain  as  to  gold,  for  the  coining 
and  commercial  rate  are  practically  the  same;  but  with  silver  the 
commercial  rate  varies  greatly,  and  those  who  are  especially  inter- 
ested must  correct  the  stated  valuation  by  the  commercial  rate  of 
the  day.  The  ton  mentioned  in  the  assays  is  invariably  2000  pounds. 

Mr.  Chas.  E.  Cooke,  topographer,  of  the  U.  S.  Geological  Sur- 
vey, was  engaged  from  October  10th  to  the  latter  part  of  Novem- 
ber in  revising  the  S.  W.  quarter  (250  square  miles)  of  the  Mor- 
ganton  Atlas  sheet,  on  a scale  of  one  mile  to  the  inch,  with  con- 
tour intervals  of  50  feet.  The  map  of  the  South  Mountain 
region  published  in  this  report  (plate  XII)  is  the  result  of  Mr. 
Cooke’s  excellent  survey. 


J.  A.  Holmes. 


THE  GOLD  DEPOSITS  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

By  H.  B.  C.  Nitze  and  Geo.  B.  Hanna. 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE  GOLD-PRODUCING  AREA  AND  ITS  DEVELOPMENT. 

The  area  of  the  gold-hearing-  rocks  ; historical  notes  ; gold  and  silver  pro- 
duction in  North  Carolina ; character  and  fineness  of  the  gold  and 
silver  ; the  gold-bearing  rocks ; nature  of  the  ore  deposits. 

AREA  OF  THE  GOLD-BEARING  ROCKS. 

Tlie  formations  of  about  one-half  of  the  area  of  North  Carolina 
may  be  considered  as  gold  bearing,  but  the  productive  part  of  this 
area,  i.  e.  the  part  which  at  one  or  another  period  has  been 
exploited  to  any  considerable  extent  will  not  exceed  8,000  or  10.000 
square  miles.  There  are  at  least  350  localities  in  the  State  which 
have  earlier  or  later  been  worked  for  gold.  At  the  present  time 
18  mines  are  in  operation. 

Warren  county  on  the  northeast,  Moore  county  on  the  southeast, 
and  the  Tennessee  line  on  the  west,  mark  approximately  the  east- 
ern and  western  boundaries  of  the  North  Carolina  gold  field  as  a 
whole.  It  passes  into  Virginia  on  the  north,  and  into  South 
Carolina  and  Georgia  on  the  south. 

This  general  field  may  be  divided  geologically  and  geographi- 
cally into  the  following  six  groups  or  belts,  the  general  location  of 
which  is  indicated  on  the  accompanying  small  map  (Plate  I) : 

1.  The  Eastern  Carolina  Belt. 

2.  The  Carolina  Slate  Belt. 

3.  The  Carolina  Igneous  Belt. 

T.  The  Kings  Mountain  Belt. 

5.  The  South  Mountain  Belt. 

6.  The  mines  west  of  the  Blue  Ridge. 

These  various  belts  are  not  in  all  instances  clearly  outlined  or 
well  marked,  and  might  on  extended  study  be  subject  to  still 
further  differentiation  or  other  revision. 


16 


GOLD  DEPOSITS  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


However,  they  serve  the  purpose  here  of  simplifying  and  facili- 
tating the  descriptions  of  the  geological  features  and  the  distribu- 
tion of  the  mines. 

Each  belt  will  be  taken  up  and  treated  separately  in  the  follow- 
ing portions  of  this  report. 

HISTORICAL  NOTES. 

At  what  time  gold  mining  was  first  undertaken  in  North  Caro- 
lina cannot  be  ascertained,  but  several  traditions,  which  carry  a 
large  probability  of  truth,  would  seem  to  indicate  that  the  aurif- 
erous character  of  the  section  was  known  before  the  Revolutionary 
war.  One  of  the  localities  in  this  State,  which  it  is  believed  was 
worked  before  that  struggle  began,  was  the  Oliver  mine  in  Gaston 
county.  The  Brewer  mine  in  Chesterfield  county,  South  Carolina, 
is  another  ; and  the  “Aborigines”  shaft,  at  this  latter  place,  is 
still  pointed  out  where  work  was  done  earlier  than  any  known 
records.  Information  has  recently  been  received  of  the  successful 
operation  of  the  Parker  mine  in  Cherokee  county,  N.  C.,  by  the 
Cherokee  Indians  long  before  the  coming  of  the  white  pioneers 
into  that  section.  They  obtained  only  nugget  gold  and  their  art 
was  entirely  inadequate  to  the  winning  of  the  fine  dust  gold. 

The  first  authentic  find  was  on  the  Reed  plantation,  in  Cabarrus 
county,  where  a 17  pound  nugget  was  found  in  1799.  Its  value 
was  not  suspected  at  first,  but  when  it  was  ascertained  to  be  gold, 
a systematic  search  was  undertaken,  and  a large  number  of  nug- 
gets were  unearthed.1 

■O 

Success  at  this  mine  stimulated  search  elsewhere  ; nugget  gold 
was  found  at  the  Dunn  mine  in  Mecklenburg  county  soon  after- 
wards, and  curious  stories  are  still  current  of  the  common  uses  to 
which  these  nuggets  were  put  by  the  local  gunsmiths. 

By  1825  gold  mining  on  a vigorous  scale  w .s  carried  on  along 
the  entire  Appalachian  slope,  from  Virginia  to  Alabama.  The 
placers  or  like  deposits  were  first  worked,  then  the  gossan  outcrops 
of  the  veins,  where  slight  skill  with  few  and  cheap  appliances  were 
adequate  to  the  work.  The  exhaustion  of  these  easily  worked 
stores  was  effected  about  the  time  of  the  discovery  of  gold  in  Cal- 


1 Emmons’  Geology  of  the  Midland  counties  of  North  Carolina,  1S56,  page  166. 


GOLD  AND  SILVER  PRODUCED  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


17 


ifornia  and  there  was  a large  exodus  of  miners  to  that  territory. 
The  mining  work  had  not  recovered  from  the  retarding  influences 
of  this  exodus  when  the  civil  war  came  and  put  an  end  to  all  work. 
At  the  close  of  the  war  but  one  gold  mine  in  North  Carolina  was 
in  operation.  Since  then  there  have  been  spasmodic  revivals  and 
depressions  in  gold  mining  throughout  the  State,  and  at  the  pres- 
ent time  everything  points  to  a healthy  growth  of  the  industry. 

GOLD  AND  SILVER  PRODUCED  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

The  total  amount  of  the  precious  metals  produced  by  the  mines 
of  North  Carolina  up  to  Nov.  30th,  1894,  so  far  as  the  United 
States  records  offer  evidence  is  as  follows  : 

Gold  (coining  rate) $11,754,369.60 

Silver  “ “ 63.630.40 


Total,  $11,817,990.00 

It  is  certain,  however,  that  this  is  but  a part  of  the  production, 
for  much  of  it  is  known  to  have  been  exported  directly  by  com- 
panies having  headquarters  abroad.  Moreover,  up  to  the  time  of 
the  discovery  of  gold  in  California,  there  was  a large  demand  for 
native  gold  by  jewelers,  and  the  Carolina  gold  was  in  request  on 
accouut  of  its  beauty.  It  is  not  an  unreasonable  conjecture  that 
the  amount  which  has  in  various  ways  escaped  official  notice  is  as 
large  as  that  on  record  ; and  that  the  total  amount  produced  in  the 
State  can  hardly  have  been  less  than  $21,000,000.00. 

• It  should  be  added  that  the  statistics  for  silver  are  trebly  obscure, 
for  in  addition  to  the  vicissitudes  observed  in  the  disposition  of  the 
gold  mined  in  North  Carolina,  this  metal  has  passed  in  a much 
greater  proportion  than  gold  directly  into  the  channels  of  com- 
merce, through  private  refineries  and  smelting  works,  inasmuch  as 
since  1873  the  United  States  Mint  has  not  purchased  silver  from 
depositors.  The  fluctuating  and  low  price  of  silver  since  1873  as 
compared  with  the  coining  rate  is  also  confusing.  The  silver  pro- 
duced in  the  State,  at  its  coining  rate,  would  probably  be  swollen 
in  even  greater  proportion  than  that  of  the  gold. 

The  following  statistics  since  1880  are  given,  from  the  records 
of  the  United  States  Mint  : 


18 


GOLD  DEPOSITS  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


Table  I.  Gold  and  Silver  produced  in  North  Carolina,  deposited  at  the 
United  States  Mint  and  Assay  offices. 


Yeah. 

Gold. 

Silver. 

Year. 

Gold. 

Silver. 

1880 

$ 77,105.30 

$ 395.33 

1888 

$ 88.641.17 

$ 2,787.80 

1881 

55,989.97 

510.12 

1889 

81.196.33 

7,803.12 

1882 

82,473,81 

662.96 

1890 

75,192.13 

1,611.77 

1883 

100,213.81 

797.57 

1891 

53,992.75 

512  96 

1881 

88,801.11 

568.09 

1892 

50.335.67 

175.96 

1885 

61,826.25 

591.07 

1893 

36,151.49 

318.11 

1886 

83,100.20 

781.71 

1891 

16,592.15 

454.83 

1887 

216,788.08 

2,756.37 

Table  II.  Estimate  of  the  production  of  Gold  and  Silver  (combined) 
in  North  Carolina. 


1880 

$ 95,000 

1885 

$ 155,000 

1830 

$ 126,397 

1881 

115.000 

1SS6 

178, 0C0 

1891 

101,177 

1882 

215,000 

1S87 

230,000 

1892 

90.196 

1883 

170,000 

1888 

139,500 

1893 

70,505 

1881 

160,500 

1889 

150.171 

1891 

52,927 

CHARACTER  AND  FINENESS  OF  GOLD  AND  SILVER. 

With  the  exception  of  minute  quantities  of  telluride  of  gold  at 
the  Kings  Mountain  mine,  and  possibly  a few  others,  the  gold  in 
this  State  is  believed  to  exist  in  the  metallic  state,  and  is  invari- 
ably alloyed  with  silver,  in  proportions  varying  from  50  to  600 
one-thousandths  of  silver. 

Native  silver  was  found  in  some  quantity  at  the  Silver  Kill 
mine  in  Davidson  county,  at  the  McMackin  and  Troutman  mines 
near  Gold  Hill,  and  at  the  Copper  Knob  mine  in  Ashe  county. 
Sulphide  of  silver  is  also  reported  to  have  been  seen  at  the  latter 
mine.  Chlorides  and  bromides,  with  their  associated  minerals,  are 
found  only  in  extremely  small  quantities,  and  are  of  no  importance 
commercially. 

Outside  of  these  associations,  silver  is  found  in  the  galenas  and 
zinc-blendes,  with  commonly  only  a small  content  in  gold.  Zinc 
ores,  dissociated  from  galena,  are  very  rare,  while  lead  ores  free 
from  large  amounts  of  zinc  are  also  infrequent.  In  a word,  the  lead 


CHARACTER  AND  FINENESS  OF  GOLD  AND  SILVER. 


19 


ores  of  North  Carolina  are  usually  zinciferous  ; they  are  commonly 
argentiferous,  and  to  a slight  extent  auriferous. 

The  fineness  of  native  gold  varies  throughout  the  State,  and  to 
a large  extent  with  the  different  formations  in  which  it  occurs. 
The  Eastern  Carolina  belt  shows  a variable  fineness  at  the  differ- 
ent points.  Thus,  toward  the  northern  part  of  the  State,  well  up 
to  the  Virginia  line,  assays  show  the  gold  to  be  about  925  m.  fine, 
with  from  60  to  75  m.  silver  and  a very  little  iron,  and  occasionally 
a trace  of  copper;  at  the  Portis  mine  in  Warren  county,  for  exam- 
ple, very  rarely  does  the  fineness  reach  to  950  m.  Further  south, 
in  Moore  county,  the  range  in  fineness  is  from  700  to  750  (rarely 
S50 ) gold,  and  225  to  300  silver,  with  similar  base  constituents. 
In  the  first  mentioned  locality,  the  gold  is  almost  entirely 
“placer”;  in  the  latter  it  is  partly  derived  from  a mill  treatment 
of  the  schists. 

Throughout  this  entire  area,  arsenic,  antimony,  etc.,  are  rare  in 
the  native  gold,  and  it  is  not  quite  certain  that  these  metals  may 
not  have  been  introduced  by  careless  manipulation. 

In  the  Carolina  Igneous  regiou,  gold  ranges  from  800  to  950 
( very  rarely  975).  Thus,  for  example,  at  the  North  State,  Phoenix, 
Eeed,  Capps  and  Eudisil  mines,  900  to  925  would  characterize  the 
average,  with  a trifle  more  iron,  and  sometimes  with  as  much  as  5 
to  10  of  copper — for  the  gold  comes  from  veins,  which  carry  large 
bodies  of  chalcopyrite.  . 

In  the  Carolina  Slate  region,  just  to  the  east  of  this  Carolina 
Igneous  belt,  the  gold  is  derived  from  schists,  which  often  carry 
pyrites  or  galenites,  and  these,  especially  the  galenites,  have 
apparently  had  a large  influence  in  lowering  the  grade,  which 
rarely  rises  to  900  ; examples  of  this  may  be  seen  at  the  Howie, 
where  the  fineness  of  the  gold  varies  from  725  to  775  ; at  Gold 
Hill,  from  850  to  900  ; at  the  Phifer,  from  750  to  800  ; and  most 
frequently  the  fineness  will  not  rise  above  825.  Where  galenite 
is  abundant,  the  proportion  of  gold  is  reduced  to  450,  and  on  rare 
occasions  to  a still  lower  point,  as,  for  example,  at  the  Davis 
mine,  we  find  gold  as  low  as  450,  and  sometimes  less  ; at  the 
Stewart,  gold  550,  silver  447.  The  native  gold  itself  does  not 
often  contain  more  than  a trace  of  lead. 


20 


G-OLD  DEPOSITS  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


In  the  extreme  western  part  of  the  State,  the  gold  is  almost 
wholly  placer  gold,  and  occurs  more  or  less  in  nuggets.  The 
fineness  is  rarely  as  low  as  800,  and  most  generally  runs  above 
900 — occasionally  rising  to  980 — with  the  least  possible  amount 
of  base  metal. 

In  the  Burke  county  mines  (South  Mountain  belt)  which  are 
chiefly  placer,  the  gold  is  tolerably  uniform,  from  825  to  850,  as 
may  be  observed  at  the  J.  C.  Mills  mines,  the  Hancock  mine, 
and  the  Brindletown  localities  generally.  In  the  adjacent 
county,  McDowell,  the  grade  lessens  to  780  or  800  ; as  at  the 
Vein  Mountain  mine.  In  Rutherford  county  it  rises  to  nearly 
900.  In  Polk  county  the  fineness  again  rises,  being  rarely  less 
than  900,  and  often  more  than  950  ; as  may  be  observed  at  the 
Double  Branch,  and  the  Splawn  mines. 

When  it  is  said  that  iron  is  found  in  native  gold,  the  statement 
must  not  pass  without  some  qualification,  for  in  some  cases  it  is 
known  to  be  due  to  a slight  proportion  of  oxide  of  iron,  mechani- 
cally contained  in  the  minute  cells  of  the  nuggets  or  grains. 
And  the  same  has  also  been  occasionally  observed  of  oxide  of 
copper. 1 

THE  GOLD-BEARING  ROCKS. 

The  auriferous  deposits  of  North  Carolina  are  contained  in  the 
crystalline  rocks,  which  cover  more  than  one-half  the  area  of  the 
State.  These  rocks  include  gneisses,  metamorphosed  schists  and 
slates,  siliceous  limestone,  granite,  diorite,  diabase  and  other  plu- 
tonic  eruptives,  devitrified  ancient  volcanics,  and  pyroclastic 
breccias.  In  part  (limestones  and  some  of  the  slates),  they  show 
evidence  of  sedimentary  origin,  but  they  are  all  metamorphosed 
to  such  a degree  that  they  are  included  here  under  the  general 
term  crystalline  rocks. 

The  age  of  these  rocks  is  not  definitely  known,  but  they  ap- 
pear to  be  Archean,  Algonkian,  and  probably  in  part  Paleozoic. 

In  the  southeastern  portion  of  the  gold  field,  in  Union,  Stanly 
and  Montgomery  counties,  is  an  area  of  little  indurated,  bedded 
slates,  of  undoubted  sedimentary  character,  which  have  been 


1 See  further  the  Engineering  and  Mining  Journal , September  IS,  1886.  G.  B.  Hanna. 


STRUCTURE  OF  THE  ORE  DEPOSITS. 


21 


called  the  “ Monroe  ” slates.  These  are  intersected  by  small 
auriferous  quartz  fissures,  but  their  economic  value  is  of  little 
importance. 

The  Jura  Trias  (Newark)  conglomerates,  bordering  on  the 
eastern  edge  of  the  gold-bearing  crystalline  rocks,  have  in  sev- 
eral instances  (Chatham  county)  been  shown  to  be  very  slightly 
auriferous,  but  this  fact  is  purely  of  scientific  and  not  of  commer- 
cial interest. 

STRUCTURE  OF  THE  ORE  DEPOSITS. 

Structually,  the  ore  deposits  are  of  two  principal  types  : (1) 
quartz  fissure  veins  containing  free  gold,  and  gold  in  combination 
with  sulphurets.  (2)  impregnations  of  free  gold  and  finely 
divided  auriferous  sulphurets  in  the  country  schists  and  slates, 
sometimes  accompanied  by  small  lenticular  quartz  intercalations. 

The  quartz  fissure  veins  in  turn  may  be  differentiated  into  (a) 
clean  cut  fissures,  intersecting  the  massive  rocks,  such  as  gran- 
ites, diorites,  etc.,  or  cutting  the  schistosity  of  the  gneisses  and 
schists,  both  in  dip  and  strike,  at  a well  defined  angle  ; (b)  a 
system  of  larger  and  smaller  lenticular  veins  of  more  or  less  defi- 
nite extent,  approximately  conformable  to  the  schistosity  of  the 
rocks,  but  also  intersecting  the  same,  usually  at  small  angles, 
and  sometimes  cutting  across  from  one  lamination  to  another,  or 
sending  oft’  irregular  and  discontinuous  stringers  into  the  wall 
rock  ; (c)  a system  of  reticulated  veins. 

The  second  class,  the  auriferous  schists,  are  sometimes  hun- 
dreds of  feet  in  width,  though  not  by  any  means  necessarily 
capable  of  being  worked  profitably  in  their  whole  extent. 
Almost  invariably  the  larger  the  ore  body,  the  lower  the  grade 
of  the  ore ; and  these  large  bodies  of  auriferous  schist  form  the 
low  grade  ores  of  North  Carolina,  as  they  do  throughout  the 
entire  southern  Appalachian,  as  well  as  other  gold  fields. 

The  gold  is  not  uniformly  distributed  in  the  ore  bodies ; both 
the  veins  and  schists  have  “chimneys”  or  “shoots”  in  which  the 
gold  is  concentrated,  leaving  the  intermediate  parts  relatively 
poor,  though  all  parts  commonly  have  some  valuable  contents. 
These  “shoots”  have  a pitch  of  their  own  in  the  vein  or  ore  body. 


22 


GOLD  DEPOSITS  OE  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


The  line  of  separation  is  not  clearly  defined,  except  to  the  expe- 
rienced miner,  who  can  discriminate  the  limits  of  the  secondary 
action,  which  has  charged  the  “shoots”. 

Moreover,  the  country  rock  in  the  vicinity  of  the  ore  bodies 
almost  everywhere  carries  some  sulphurets  (usually  pyrite), 
which  contain  at  least  a trace  of  gold. 

INFLUENCE  OF  WEATHERING  AGENCIES  ON  THE  ORE  BODIES. 

The  entire  surface  of  the  country  has  long  been  subject  to 
weathering  agencies  ; and  as  a result  the  rocks,  together  with  the 
auriferous  bodies  contained  in  them,  have  been  decomposed  to 
considerable  depths,  occasionally  reaching  200  feet.  Xearly  or 
quite  to  the  depths  of  these  alterations,  and  almost  always  to  the 
permanent  water  line,  which  is  rarely  more  than  50  feet  from 
the  surface,  the  gold  is  in  a free  condition. 

In  these  upper,  decomposed  portions  (the  gossan)  of  the  ore 
bodies  the  pyrite  is  for  the  most  part  changed  to  brown  hema- 
tite (brown  ore),  the  copper  sulphides  have  become  malachite 
(rarely  azurite),  chrysocalla,  and  occasionally  either  black  or  red 
oxide  of  copper,  or  else  the  copper  constituents  have  been  almost 
entirely  leached  out,  and  similarly  the  lead  and  zinc  sulphides 
have  been  altered.  The  decomposed  “brown  ore”  holds  not  only 
the  gold,  which  was  originally  in  the  sulphurets,  but  it  has  been 
further  enriched  as  a result  of  the  alterations  which  have  taken 
place,  as  is  evidenced  by  the  presence  of  nuggets  and  grain  gold, 
which  is  always  found  in  this  zone  more  abundantly  than  in  the 
deeper  ores.  Ores  of  this  class  are  not  difficult  to  work,  and 
require  little  and  inexpensive  machinery.  The  treatment  is 
rather  a mechanical  process  than  a metallurgical  one,  and  with 
close  attention  to  the  process  a large  part  of  the  precious  contents 
is  extracted  at  a small  cost.  The  larger  bodies  of  brown  ores 
have  by  this  time  been  practically  exhausted,  and  the  work 
henceforth  must  generally  be  on  the  deeper,  more  complex,  and 
as  a rule,  less  rich  ores. 

Below  the  water  level  the  ores  are  only  partly  altered  at  most. 
However,  native  gold  is  often  found  attached  to  the  sulphurets, 


INFLUENCE  OF  WEATHERING  AGENCIES  ON  THE  ORE  BODIES.  23 


and  a simple  concentration  of  the  ores  will  generally  disclose 
free  gold.  But  the  yield  by  stamp-mill  amalgamation  alone  is 
seldom  sufficient  to  he  remunerative,  and  the  ores  must  he  sub- 
mitted to  further  mechanical  and  metallurgical  treatment  for  the 
extraction  of  the  gold  from  the  sulphurets. 

The  cost  of  mining  is  also  largely  increased,  chiefly  as  it 
becomes  necessary  to  use  pumping  and  other  machinery,  the  pur- 
chase and  maintainance  of  which  are  heavy  expenses. 

The  narrow  seams  and  veinlets  of  quartz,  which  are  extraordi- 
narily abundant  in  the  North  Carolina  gold  field,  and  which 
traverse  the  country  in  many  directions,  are  oftentimes  compara- 
tively rich  in  gold.  The  weathering  agencies  have  in  time  lib- 
erated the  gold  from  these  veinlets,  and  from  the  decomposed 
masses  of  country  rock,  and  subsequently  concentrated  it  on  the 
bed  of  undisturbed  rock,  or  in  the  streams,  thus  forming  the 
placer  deposits. 


24 


GOLD  DEPOSITS  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA, 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE  EASTERN  CAROLINA  BELT. 

GENERAL  DESCRIPTION. 

This  embraces  the  extreme  northeast  deposits  of  the  State,  in 
the  counties  of  Warren,  Halifax,  Franklin  and  Nash,  (see  plate 
I,  page  15).  The  present  known  area  over  which  the  mines  are 
distributed  is  not  less  than  300  square  miles,  extending  from  the 
Thomas  mine,  lj  miles  northeast  of  Hansom’s  Bridge,  in  a south- 
westerly direction  to  the  Tar  river  ; and  it  is  possible  that  these 
boundaries  will  ultimately  be  enlarged  both  to  the  north  and 
south,  and  even  to  the  east  into  the  region  now  covered  by  recent 
sands  and  clays. 

On  the  west  this  area  is  bounded  by  the  Louisburg  granite. 

The  country  rocks  are  diorite,  chloritic  schist,  and  gneiss. 
The  great  abundance  of  quartz  veinlets,  from  a line  to  1?  inches 
in  thickness,  is  very  conspicuous  in  this  district.  They  com- 
monly run  with  the  lamination,  but  sometimes  cross  both  the 
strike  and  dip  of  the  schistosity ; occasionally  they  occur  in  con- 
siderable numbers  close  together  and  constitute  a true  ore  chan- 
nel. They  consist  generally  of  sugary  or  granular  quartz,  often 
seamed  and  tilled  with  oxide  of  iron,  and  are  always  soft  and 
easily  crushed.  The  smaller  seams  are  usually  the  richer.  The 
gold  appears  originally  to  have  been  in  these  narrow  seams  of 
quartz,  which  have  been  broken  down  in  the  process  of  weather- 
ing, and  the  fragments  of  which  are  widely  distributed  through 
the  soil,  and  are  generally  most  abundant  on  the  bed  rock,  15  to 
25  feet  below  the  surface,  or  in  favored  sinks  and  channels. 

The  richer  parts  of  this  district  have  been  worked  60  or  70 
years,  but  those  parts  which  are  most  accessible  to  water  have 
been  so  far  exhausted  as  to  be  no  longer  profitable  under  the 
simple  methods  so  long  practiced  ; hence  the  almost  total  cessa- 
tion of  the  heretofore  small  hydraulic  operations,  although 
hydraulic  work  on  a large  systematic  scale  may  in  many  cases  be 
quite  feasible. 


MINES  IN  THE  EASTERN  CAROLINA  BELT. 


25 


A large  amount  of  quartz  has  been  accumulated  by  such  work; 
most  of  this  is  auriferous,  and  capable  of  being  milled  at  a small 
profit,  as  indicated  by  the  following  assays  : 

Assays  of  free-milling  quartz , Eastern  Carolina  Belt. 

(1)  (2)  (3) 

Gold  (per  ton) $2.07  $3.10  $2.59 

Silver  (per  ton) trace.  trace.  trace. 

Most  of  the  mines  of  this  district  have  the  same  salient  char- 
acteristics and  demand  the  same  mode  of  treatment ; though 
some,  like  the  Portis,  are  situated  on  elevated  land,  and  are  not 
naturally  well  supplied  with  water. 

A combined  hydraulic  and  milling  method,  such  as  is  used  so 
extensively  in  Dahlonega,  Georgia,  may  in  many  cases  be  adapt- 
able to  the  mines  of  the  Eastern  Carolina  belt. 

The  production  of  this  district  has  unquestionably  been  very 
considerable,  but  whether  the  three  or  four  millions  of  dollars 
attributed  to  it  can  be  substantiated  may  admit  of  some  doubt. 

GOLD  DEPOSITS  AND  MINES  IN  THE  EASTERN  CAROLINA  BELT. 

Among  the  more  noted  mines  of  the  region,  which  have  been 
worked,  are  the  following  : 

The  Portis  Mine1  is  situated  near  Ransom’s  Bridge  in  the 
northeastern  corner  of  Franklin  county,  about  18  miles  E.  R.  E. 
from  Louisburg,  on  a hill  108  feet  above  Shocco  creek,  from 
which  water  for  hydraulic  work  is  obtained. 

The  only  work  of  any  consequence  that  has  been  done  here 
was  surface  sluicing  and  some  hydraulicking,  to  a depth  of  from 
15  to  30  feet.  Recently  some  prospect  pits  have  been  sunk  on 
various  portions  of  the  property,  but  none  of  these  extend  to  the 
water  level,  being  entirely  in  the  upper  decomposed  rock  layer. 
Practically  very  little  can  be  learned,  either  in  regard  to  the 
true  nature  of  the  deposits  in  place,  or  the  nature  and  relations 
of  the  country  rock. 

The  country  rock  appears  to  be  diorite,  which  in  general  is 
greatly  decomposed  and  beyond  recognition  ; only  at  a few  points 
were  fairly  fresh  specimens  found. 


1Geolog.  Report  of  the  Midland  Counties  of  N.  C.,  p.  110. 


26 


GOLD  DEPOSITS  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


From  a statement  of  Col.  Stnrgess,  the  owner,  it  appears  that 
there  are  two  main  zones  of  ore,  nearly  at  right  angles  to  each 
other.  One 'of  these  strikes  about  FT.  50°  E.,  and  dips  25°  S. 
E.,  as  determined  in  a shallow  prospect  shaft.  The  ore  body 
consists  of  a mass  of  small  and  large  reticulated  quartz  veins 
(up  to  2 feet  thick)  in  the  diorite,  measuring  about  9 feet  in  total 
width.  The  quartz  is  stained  brown,  and  is  for  the  most  part  of 
a saccharoidal  character. 

The  other  zone  is  known  locally  as  the  “White  Belt”,  and, 
like  the  first,  consists  of  a network  of  reticulated  quartz  veins. 
The  thickness  of  the  deposit  is  stated  to  be  about  9 feet.  It  is 
called  the  “White  Belt”  presumably  on  account  of  the  appear- 
ance of  the  decomposed  diorite,  which  is  a soft  bleached  mass. 
The  strike  is  west  of  north,  and  the  dip  westward  at  a very  low 
angle.  A former  miner  stated,  that  in  a distance  of  300  yards  to 
the  west  of  the  outcrop,  the  depth  of  the  ore  body  was  only  40 
feet. 

Some  loose  pieces  of  diabase  were  found  near  one  of  these 
openings,  but  not  in  place.  It  is  stated  that  this  rock  occurs  in 
boulders  just  above  the  ore  of  the  “White  Bank”;  and  it  is  pos- 
sible therefore  that  the  diabase  exists  as  an  intrusive  dike  lying 
with  the  ore  body,  nearly  flat  and  above  it,  or  it  may  exist  in 
more  vertical  dikes  somewhere.  Its  true  relation  could  not  be 
determined.  At  least  one  might  say  that  it  appears  to  be  asso- 
ciated with  the  ore  body. 

It  is  stated  that  the  upper  decomposed  rock  layer  is  every- 
where auriferous,  and  will  pay  to  hydraulic.  The  scarcity  of 
water  is  the  great  impediment.  Small  irregular  quartz  stringers 
occur  promiscuously  throughout  the  country  rock. 

At  one  point  a line  has  been  hydraulicked,  and  Col.  Sturgess 
reports  that  1000  cubic  yards  yielded  1018  pennyweights  of  gold, 
the  loose  vein  rock  obtained  in  this  mass  averaging  about  SS  per 
ton,  assay  value. 

The  Mann- Arrington  Mine  is  situated  in  the  northwest  corner 
of  Hash  county,  at  Argo  P.  O.,  five  miles  southeast  of  Ransom’s 
Bridge.  The  country  rock  is  chloritic  schist,  in  part  porphyritic, 
some  of  the  phenocrysts  being  J inch  in  diameter.  It  may  be  a 


MINES  IN  THE  EASTERN  CAROLINA  BELT. 


27 


metamorphosed  diorite.  The  strike  is  17.  58°  E.,  dip  10°  S.  E. 
The  rock  contains  iron  sulphurets,  and  quartz  lenses,  from  minute 
size  up  to  12  inches  in  thickness.  These  lenses  are  interlami- 
nated  in  the  schist,  and  some  were  observed  to  cut  the  schistosity 
at  low  angles.  The  quartz  is  generally  quite  saccharoidal,  and 
often  of  a reddish  brown  color  from  the  decomposed  sulphurets, 
having  a “live”  appearance  for  gold.  It  contains  included  frag- 
ments of  chlorite.  The  mine  has  been  worked  to  a depth  of 
about  108  feet,  but  is  now  idle. 

The  Arrington  Mine  is  in  Nash  county,  one  mile  southeast  of 
the  Portis.  The  mine  tract  comprises  nearly  2,000  acres  of  land 
extending  two  or  three  miles  down  Fishing  Creek.  After  the 
Portis,  this  mine  is  the  best  known  of  the  region. 

The  Thomas,  Kearney,  Taylor,  Mann  and  Davis  (in  Halifax 
county),  are  other  but  less  prominent  mines  of  this  region. 

The  Nick  Arrington  Mine  is  twelve  miles  east  of  the  Portis. 

The  Conyers  Mine  is  seven  miles  from  Whitakers,  on  Fishing 
creek.  There  is  an  18-inch  vein  of  brown  and  sulphurretted  ore, 
in  addition  to  a large  quantity  of  “pay”  gravel.  The  shaft  is  30 
feet  deep,  and  is  reported  to  show  milling  ore  all  the  way. 

Near  Springhope  on  Tar  river,  about  20  miles  west  of  Pocky 
Mount,  considerable  surface  washing  has  been  done,  and  a large 
amount  of  gold  extracted,  but  there  has  been  no  systematic  work. 

On  the  Woodward-Hedgepath  tract,  2 miles  from  Nashville,  a 
strong  vein  3 feet  wide  has  lately  been  opened  up  for  a distance 
of  more  than  one  mile.  The  ore  is  cellular  quartz,  containing 
iron  pyrites  ; adjacent  is  a parallel  body  of  auriferous  slates. 


28 


GOLD  DEPOSITS  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE  CAROLINA  SLATE  BELT. 

CHARACTER  AND  AGE  OF  THE  ROCKS. 

The  term  slate,  as  used  in  this  connection,  covers  a broad 
designation.  The  country  rocks  of  this  important  belt  are  : 

1.  Argillaceous,  sericitic  (hydromicaceous),  and  chloritic  meta- 
morphosed slates  and  crystalline  schists. 

2.  Sedimentary  pre-Jura-Trias  slates. 

3.  Ancient  volcanic  rhyolites,  quartz-porphyries,  etc.  (flint, 
hornstone,  etc.),  and  pyroclastic  breccias,  often  sheared. 

This  area  of  metamorphic  slates  and  schists  embraces  a belt 
extending  in  a general  southwesterly  direction  across  the  central 
part  of  the  State,  and  varying  in  width  from  8 to  50  miles.  It 
is  bounded  on  the  west  by  the  central  igneous  area  (Emmons’ 
pyro-crystalline  rocks,  Kerr’s  Lower  Laurentian),  and  on  the 
east  for  the  greater  part  by  the  Jura-Trias  : also  in  the  northern 
part  by  a small  area  of  Archean  rocks  (Kerr’s  Upper  Laurentian): 
and  in  the  southeastern  part  by  a Small  embay ment  of  the  Coastal 
Plain.  This  is  the  so-called  “ great  slate  belt  ” of  Olmsted,  the 
“ Taconic  ” of  Emmons  and  the  “ ITuronian  ” of  Kerr. 

In  order  to  gain  a more  comprehensive  oversight  of  this  im- 
portant geological  area,  it  will  be  well  to  state  in  a few  words 
both  Emmons’  conception  of  his  Taconic,  and  Kerr’s  conception 
of  his  ITuronian  in  this  part  of  North  Carolina,  without  com- 
ment ; and  then  to  discuss  the  same  in  the  light  of  more  recent 
investigation.  This  is  by  no  means  intended  to  be  a general  dis- 
cussion of  the  Taconic  question,  but  simply  in  so  far  as  it  refers 
to  this  particular  zone  of  gold-bearing  rocks.  The  investigations 
carried  on  in  this  field  during  the  autumn  of  1891  were  of  neces- 
sity very  cursory  and  incomplete,  and  can  only  form  the  begin- 
ning of  a more  thorough  study  of  the  region  later  on. 

EMMONS’  TACONIC  SYSTEM  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA.1 

Emmons  places  these  rocks  among  the  lowest  members  of  the 
oldest  sedimentaries,  i.  e..  at  the  base  of  the  Paleozoic. 


1 Geological  Report  of  the  Midland  Counties  of  N.  C.,  1S56  ; pp.  38-73. 


EMMONS  TACONIC  SYSTEM  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


29 


“ The  formations  of  the  midland  counties,  which  occupy  the 
largest  extent  of  surface,  are  slates  and  siliceous  rocks,  which 
have  been  called  quartzites.”  "x‘  * * "x'  “ The  slates  are  va- 

riable in  color  and  composition.  They  are  mineralogically  clay, 
chloritic  and  talcose  slates,  taking  silica  into  their  composition 
at  times,  and  even  passing  into  line  grits  and  hornestones,  but 
still  variable  in  coarseness.  In  the  order  in  which  they  lie,  the 
talcose  slates  and  quartzites  are  the  inferior  rocks,  though  quartz- 
ites occur  also  in  the  condition  of  chert,  flint  or  hornestones  in 
all  the  series.” 

He  establishes  their  sedimentary  origin  from  the  occurence  of 
numerous  beds  containing  rounded  pebbles.  Further,  “many  beds 
which  look  like  sediments,  are  porphyrized  and  somewhat 
changed,  though  not  strictly  porphyries;  and  these  porphyrized 
beds  also  frequently  contain  pebbles,  and  are  therefore  partially 
altered  sediments”. 

One  of  the  arguments  that  Emmons  uses  to  prove  the  sedi- 
mentary nature  of  the  Taconic  and  its  derivation  from  the  basal 
complex,  is  the  presence  of  gold  in  the  slates  and  schists,  “which 
of  course  must  have  been  commingled  with  the  sediments  at  the 
time  these  rocks  were  deposited”.  * * * * * * * “The 
gold  exists  mostly  in  the  western  belt  of  granite  in  the  veins 
belonging  to  the  hornblende  and  gneiss  of  the  Blue  Ridge.” 

Furthermore  he  claims  to  have  discovered  in  his  Lower 
Taconic  sandstones  and  cherty  beds  at  Troy  and  Zion  (12  miles 
S.  W.  of  Troy)  in  Montgomery  county,  2 or  3 species  of  fossils.1 

These  fossils  he  describes  as  siliceous  corals  of  a lenticular 
form,  from  the  size  of  a pea  to  2 inches  in  diameter.  Two  vari- 
eties are  distinguished  and  named  by  him  Paleotrochis  (old  mes- 
senger) major  and  Paleotrochis  minor.  He  also  reports  to  have 
found  one  or  two  specimens  of  an  obscure  bryozoon. 

The  following  descriptive  section  in  the  ascending  order  of  the 
rocks  and  beds,  in  which  these  fossils  were  found,  is  given  : 2 

1.  Talcose  slates,  passing  into  siliceous  slates,  and  which  are  often 
obscurely  brecciated. 

2.  Brecciated  conglomerates,  sometimes  porphyrized. 

1 Geol.  Rept.  of  the  Midland  counties  of  N.  C.,  1856,  p.  60. 

2 Ibid,  p.  61. 


30 


GOLD  DEPOSITS  OF  IjfORTH  CAROLINA. 


3.  Slaty  breccia,  associated  with  hornstone. 

4.  Granular  quartz,  sometimes  vitreous  and  filled  with  fossils  and  siliceous 
concretions  of  the  size  of  almonds. 

5.  Slaty  quartzite  with  very  few  fossils. 

6.  Slate  without  fossils. 

7.  White  quartz,  more  or  less  vitrified,  filled  with  fossils  and  concretions. 

8.  Jointed  granular  quartz,  with  only  a few  fossils. 

9.  Vitrified  quartz  without  fossils. 

10.  Granular  quartz,  no  fossils. 

“The  fossils  also  occur  in  the  variety  of  quartz  or  quartzite 
known  as  burrhstone,  and  which  is  often  porphyrized.  The  fos- 
siliferous  beds  themselves  are  sometimes  auriferous.” 

He  is  therefore  disposed  from  these  facts  to  place  all  the  rocks, 
not  decidedly  igneous,  or  which  he  regarded  as  stratified 
(though  in  reality  the  apparent  statification  is  but  schistose 
lamination),  with  the  sediments.  He  then  correlates  these  rocks 
with  the  Taconie,  the  infrasilurian  sediments  of  Massachusetts, 
mainly  from  their  lithological  characters,  and  the  relations  in 
which  they  are  placed  to  the  older  rocks,  and  those  which  they 
sustain  to  each  other.  In  Mo'rth  Carolina,  he  says,  these  rocks 
have  been  derived  from  syenitic  granites,  which  he  believes  to 
belong  to  the  primary  or  basal  complex.  He  makes  two  divis- 
ions, the  Lower  Taconie  and  the  Upper  Taconic,  the  distinction 
betwnen  them,  however,  being  less  obvious  in  North  Carolina, 
than  in  the  northern  equivalents. 

THE  LOWER  TACONIC. 

u The  Lovier  series  (Taconic)  will  contain  the  talcose  slates, 
white  and  brown  sandstone,  or  quartz,  which  is  frequently  vitri- 
fied or  cherty,  and  the  granular  limestone  and  associated  slates.”1 

The  talc  slate  is  made  up  of  talc  and  fine  grains  of  quartz. 
Color  and  lustre  is  silvery  when  chlorite  is  absent,  and  greenish 
when  chlorite  is  present.  When  quartz  predominates  it  becomes 
a friable  sandstone. 

The  quartz  rocks,  white  and  brown  sandstones,  occur  under 
the  following  varieties  : 

1.  A fine  grained  coherent  quartz. 

2.  A fine  grained  friable  quartz. 


■Geol.  Rept.  Midland  Counties  of  N.  C.,  1856,  p.  49. 


THE  UPPER  TACONIC. 


31 


3.  A fine  grained  micaceous  and  talcose  quartz. 

4.  Vitrified  quartz  or  chert. 

(a)  green,  blue,  (b)  agatized. 

5.  A cherty  or  apparently  porphyrized  quartz,  which  contains  feldspar, 

which  decomposes  and  leaves  a rough  porous  mass  similar  to  burrh- 
stone. 

6.  Pebbly  and  semi-brecciated  quartz. 

7.  Common  brown  quartz. 

This  rock  is  associated  with  the  talcose  slates,  and  is  repeated 
two  or  three  times  ; it  frequently  contains  pebbles,  and  passes 
into  hornstone,  chert  or  flint. 

The  apparent  vitrification  he  considers  due  to  a chemical 
combination  of  the  particles,  or  to  a cause  independent  and 
distinct  from  heat. 

“ Agalmatolite  ” (pyrophyllite)  also  occurs  in  beds  in  this 
Lower  Taconic  series. 

The  limestone  is  associated  with  slate  and  quartz,  and  con- 
tains talc  and  tremolite. 

The  rocks  of  the  Lower  Taconic  then  are  : 

1.  Beds  of  talcose  slates.  2.  Quartz  rocks  with  their  alterna- 
ting series  of  talcose  slates.  3.  Beds  of  agalmatolite.  4.  Lime- 
stone with  its  interlaminated  slates. 

THE  UPPER  TACONIC. 

“The  upper  (series)  will  contain  (in  ascending  order)  the  green 
clay  slates  novaculite,  the  argillaceous,  and  sometimes  chloritic 
sandstones  or  grits,  and  the  brecciated  conglomerates.”1 

This  division  of  the  system  is  not  very  clearly  marked,  but  the 
rocks  regarded  by  Emmons  as  belonging  to  it  in  North  Carolina 
are : 

1.  The  argillaceous  or  clay  slates  and  subordinate  beds.  Ordi- 
nary soft,  greenish  slates  are  the  prevailing  rocks.  A red 
decomposed  variety  is  mentioned  as  being  common  near  Pitts- 
boro,  Chatham  county.  The  subordinate  beds  are  fine  siliceous 
slates,  passing  into  chert  and  hornstone.  Color  blue,  purple  and 
green. 

2.  The  chloritic  and  argillaceous  sandstones  have  an  interme- 

1 Emmons : Geol.  Report  Midland  Counties  of  N.  C.,  1S56  , p.  4fi. 

3 


32 


GOLD  DEPOSITS  OE  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


diate  composition  between  sandstone  and  slate.  They  are  finer 
and  more  chloritic  and  among  them  are  beds  of  conglomerate. 
These  chloritic  beds  may  be  taken  for  trap,  being  greenish  and 
tough,  and  besides  like  trap  the  broken  strata  exfoliate  in  con- 
centric layers. 

3.  The  brecciated  conglomerate  has  an  argillaceous  or  chloritic 
base.  The  mass  is  composed  in  the  main  of  fragments  of  other 
rocks,  mostly  retaining  an  angular  form.  These  fragments  are 
sometimes  as  much  as  2 feet  long. 

The  clay  slates  and  breccias,  with  their  intermediate  beds,  are 
traversed  by  veins  of  milky  quartz  ; these  are  sometimes  aurifer- 
ous, but  usually  barren. 

The  socalled  quartzite  of  both  the  Upper  and  Lower  Taconic 
is  considered  of  such  peculiarity  that  a separate  chapter  is  devo- 
ted to  its  description.  It  is  an  uncrystallized  ( crypto-crystalline  i 
quartz  resembling  gun-flint,  also  called  flint,  chert  and  horn- 
stone.  Color  bluish-black,  passing  to  purple,  grayish,  white  and 
green  ; sometimes  banded  ; texture  fine  when  compared  with  the 
finest  sandstone  ; translucent  on  the  edges;  fracture  flat  eonchoi- 
dal ; often  porpliyritic  or  porphyrized,  and  frequently  the  fresh 
fracture  is  dotted  with  small  limpid  crystals  of  quartz. 

These  quartzites  are  not  confined  to  rocks  of  a particular  age 
■or  given  series.  They  seem  to  be  distributed  through  formations 
of  all  ages  and  epochs.  Emmons  explains  their  origin  rather 
from  a chemical  than  from  a metamorphic  standpoint.1 

KERR’S  HURONIAN  SYSTEM  IN  CENTRAL  NORTH  CAROLINA.1 

Kerr  recognizes  five  principal  outcrops  of  the  Huronian  rocks. 
The  one  that  corresponds  to  the  central  auriferous  slate  belt,  and 
hence  of  interest  her£,  lies  on  the  west  side  of  the  Raleigh  gran- 
ite. “ The  bottom  beds  are  argillaceous  and  talcoid ; 

three  to  four  miles  from  Raleigh  these  slates 
become  highly  plumbaginous,  * * and  a heavy  body  of 

micaceous,  white,  slaty  quartzites  follows  closely  along  the  west 
side  of  the  graphite.  Alternations  of  argillaceous,  talc-oid  and 


JGeol.  Rept.  Midland  Counties  of  N.  C.,  p.  51. 

2Report  of  the  Geological  Survey  of  North  Carolina.  1875.  vol.  1;  pp.  131-139. 


THE  SLATES  AND  SCHISTS. 


33 


qnartzitic  beds  continue  for  five  or  six  miles,  when  they  disap- 
pear beneath  a narrow  trough  of  Triassic  sandstones,  beyond 
which  they  emerge  along  an  irregular,  but  approximately  1ST.  E. 
and  S.  W.  line  in  the  general  central  mineral  bearing  slate  belt. 

* * * * * * * It  is  composed  of  siliceous  slates 

and  clay  slates  chiefly ; the  former  being  often  brecciated  and 
conglomerate,  the  pebbles  sometimes  a foot  and  upwards  in  diam- 
eter, frequently  chloritic,  and  often  passing  into  hornstone  and 
chert  and  occasionally  into  quartzite.  The  clay  slates  are  gen- 
erally thin  bedded,  often  shaly,  grey,  drab,  banded,  blue  and 
frequently  greenish  from  an  admixture  of  chlorite  ; sometimes 
t.alcoid  or  hydro-micaceous  ; and  very  often  they  may  be  better 
described  as  conglomerate  slates,  being  composed  of  flattened 
and  differently  colored  soft,  slaty  fragments  of  all  sizes,  from 
minute  particles  to  an  inch  and  more  in  diameter.  * * 'x'  * 

* * * * in  Montgomery  county,  in  a very  heavy  ledge 

of  siliceous  slates,  occurs  a siliceous  conglomerate  which  is  filled 
for  hundreds  of  feet  with  very  singular  siliceous  concretions, 
some  of  which  Dr.  Emmons  has  described  under  the  name  of 
Paleotrochis  ; but  the  rock  for  several  miles,  as  well  as  at  this 
particular  locality,  contains  a multitude  of  rounded  and  ovoid 
masses  from  the  smallest  sizes  to  that  of  a hen's  egg;  showing 
the  wide  prevalence  of  conditions  favorable  to  the  operation  of 
concretionary  forces.” 

He  also  mentions  the  occurrence  of  beds  of  pyrophyllite,  and 
the  abundance  of  quartz  veins.  The  strike  is  northeast  and  the 
dip  is  prevalently  west  at  high  angles. 

“The  belt  is  bounded  on  both  sides  by  the  Laurentian  on  which 
it  liesymconformably,  and  from  which  its  materials  were  derived. 
The  stratigraphy  therefore  indicates  the  horizon  of  these  rocks  to 
be  the  Huronian,  and  lithology  agrees  well  with  that  determina- 
tion.” 

RESULTS  OF  MORE  RECENT  PETROGRAPHIC  STUDIES. 

THE  SLATES  AND  SCHISTS. 

One  of  the  results  of  the  present  survey  in  this  belt  has  been 
to  identify  at  least  the  argillaceous,  sericitic  and  chloritic  schists 


34 


GOLD  DEPOSITS  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


and  slates  with,  those  of  Emmons’  Taconic  and  Kerr’s  Huronian. 
(The  Monroe  slates  form  an  exception  and  will  he  spoken  of 
later — p.  36).  These  rocks  have  in  places  been  called  schists,  in 
others  slates.  Certainly  a great  number  of  the  rocks  have  a true 
slaty  cleavage,  while  others  are  more  truly  schistose,  i.  e.  the  lam- 
inae are  not  essentially  parallel.  These  structural  effects  are  due  to 
the  action  of  dynamic  metamorphism  on  materials  of  different 
composition.  The  argillaceous  types  might  more  properly  he 
called  the  slates  (clay-slate,  thon-schiefer,  argyllite,  phyllite)  as 
they  contain  more  uncrystalline  matter,  and  possess  a more  defi- 
nitely slaty  structure.  So  also  bedding  planes  are  more  easily 
distinguishable  in  these,  if  at  all  ; and  altogether  their  sediment- 
ary or  clastic  origin  is  more  evident.  At  the  same  time  they  are 
metamorphosed  in  varying  degrees  and  possess  many  secondary 
cleavage  structures.  These  slates  often  have  a calcareous  tend- 
ency in  their  composition,  as  exemplified  by  the  numerous  small 
calcite  seams  that  intersect  them  and  the  coatings  of  calcite  on 
their  cleavage  planes. 

The  term  talc  ( tcdcose , talcoid)  slate  or  schist,  used  by  Emmons 
and  Kerr,  and  generally  by  many  other  writers,  is  a mistaken 
one.  It  is  true  that  it  is  perhaps  an  excusable  mistake,  for  these 
slates  and  schists  are  often  so  soft  and  greasy  that  the  resem- 
blance to  talc  is  very  great.  However,  chemical  analysis  and 
other  characteristics  would  place  it  in  the  class  of  hydro-musco- 
vite or  sericite,  the  percentage  of  magnesia  being  far  too  small 
for  talc.  Several  analyses  of  type  specimens  of  this  rock  from 
the  Haile  mine  in  Lancaster  county,  S.  C.,  by  Dr.  Chas.  Basker- 
ville,  show  : 

Analyses  of  Sei'icite  Schist,  Haile  Mine , S.  C. 


(4)  (5) 

Si02 44.61?  61.02? 

AL03 31.57  25.54 

FeO 3.55  4.46 

CaO 0.20  0.60 

MgO 0.22  0.14 

MnO 0.16  

Na„0 6.96  2.19 

K„0 6.97  1.81 

H„0 5.80  4.20 


100.04 


99.96 


RESULTS  OF  MORE  RECENT  PETROGRAPHIC  STUDIES. 


35 


The  term  that  we  shall  therefore  use  as  more  appropriate  is 
sericite  schist.  The  true  talc  schists  are  very  rare. 

The  chloritic  schists  are  probably  more  truly  crystalline 
schists,  and  are  richer  in  accessory  metamorphic  minerals,  such 
as  garnet  and  epidote. 

The  argillaceous  slates  and  sericite  schists  are  often  silicilied  ; 
the  clorite  schists  are  not  as  a rule.  This  silicification  exists  in 
varying  degrees  up  to  a completeness  which  renders  the  rock  so 
hard  that  it  resists  scratching  with  a knife.  This  subject  will 
be  referred  to  again  in  the  discussion  of  the  genesis  of  the  gold 
ores  (see  p.  47). 

The  strike  of  the  formation  as  a whole  is  generally  77.  E.  and 
S.  W .,  and  the  dip  steeply  to  the  1ST.  W.  These  strikes  and  dips 
refer  to  the  scliistosity  of  the  rocks,  and  not  to  bedding  planes.  In 
the  separate  descriptions  of  the  mines,  wherever  the  bedding  of 
the  slates  could  be  determined,  and  the  instances  were  rare,  it  is 
so  stated. 

In  general  the  force  producing  scliistosity  and  slaty  cleavage 
appears  to  have  acted  downward  from  the  northwest,  producing 
normal  faulting  with  but  little  deformation.  ISTo  instance  of 
reverse  faulting  was  recorded. 

Now,  as  to  the  origin  of  these  schistose  and  slaty  rocks;  in  part, 
it  seems  that  they  must  be  sedimentaries  altered  by  dynamo-  and 
hydro-metamorphism.  The  evidence  of  this  is  offered  by  several 
observations  of  bedding  and  banding  extending  across  the  schis- 
tositv,  generally  at  a low  angle,  as  for  instance  at  the  Bonnie 
Bell,  Stewart,  and  Bussell  mines. 

Their  lamination  or  scliistosity,  however,  is  wholly  the  effect 
of  shearing,  produced  by  dynamo-metamorphism,  and  not  bedding 
planes  of  stratigraphic  structure,  as  both  Emmons  and  Kerr  sup- 
posed. The  original  bedding  planes  may  correspond  to  certain 
of  the  present  cleavage  planes,  i.  e.,  lie  parallel  to  them,  but  in 
that  case  the  bedding  structure  has  been  obliterated.  Scliistosity 
must  not  be  confounded  with  bedding. 

It  does  not  seem  probable  at  the  present  stage  of  the  investi- 
gation, that  these  slates  have  been  derived  from  the  granitic  and 


36 


GOLD  DEPOSITS  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


other  more  basic  igneous  masses  lying  on  the  west ; for  as  noted 
further  on,  these  are  supposed  to  be  later  intrusive  bosses. 

That  others  of  these  schists,  particularly  the  chloritic  varieties, 
are  metamorphosed,  sheared  eruptives  seems  equally  probable ; 
such  for  instance  are  the  schists  of  the  Jones,  Parker,  Mann 
Arrington,  etc.,  mines.  They  are  even  porphvritic  and  brecciated 
in  places.  In  fact  Emmons  hints  at  such  rocks  in  his  description 
of  the  Upper  Taconic  chloritic  member,  when  he  says  “These 
beds  may  be  mistaken  for  trap,  being  greenish  and  tough,  and 
besides  like  trap,  the  broken  strata  exfoliate  in  concentric  lay- 
ers” 1 (p.  32).  This  subject  will  be  recurred  to  later  on. 

THE  MONROE  SLATES. 

At  Monroe  in  Union  County,  a considerable  area  of  truly  bed- 
ded and  but  little  indurated  or  metamorphosed  slates  was  dis- 
covered. Very  similar  slates  were  later  on  found  at  the  Parker 
mine,  at  the  town  of  Albemarle,  in  Stanly  county,  and  at  the 
Sam  Christian  mine,  in  Montgomery  county.  Thus  presumably 
they  cover  a large  area  in  the  southeastern  portion  of  the  “Caro- 
lina Slate  Belt.”  In  the  fresh  condition  this  slate  is  black, 
weathering  to  dark  and  light  drab,  greenish  and  even  reddish  in 
color.  At  the  railroad  station  (Monroe)  it  lies  in  a low,  gently 
undulating  anticlinorium.  Several  hundred  yards  south  of  the 
depot  the  strike  is  1ST.  85°  E.,  and  the  dip  30°  S.  E.  At  this 
point  it  is  intersected  by  numerous  small  quartz  fissures,  from 
the  thickness  of  a knife  edge  to  2 inches,  striking  north  and 
south,  and  standing  nearly  vertical.  At  a point  J mile  north  of 
the  depot  it  is  finely  banded  and  lies  nearly  horizontal.  It  has 
been  quarried  here  for  use  as  paving  blocks  in  Monroe. 

These  slates  were  not  recognized  by  either  Emmons  or  Kerr. 
That  they  are  of  sedimentary  origin  and  of  later  age  than  the 
slates  and  schists  to  the  west  and  north  can  scarcely  admit  of 
doubt.  They  are  reported  to  dip  under  the  Jura  Trias  conglo- 
merate at  Polkton,  about  20  miles  east  of  Monroe,  and  might  be 
looked  upon  as  Lower  Paleozoic ; but  the  absence  of  fossils  (at 


1Geoi.  Rept.  Midland  Counties  of  N.  C.,  1856,  p.  66. 


QUARTZ  ROCKS THE  VOLCANIC  SERIES. 


37 


least  so  far  nore  have  been  found,  though  a careful  search  is 
certainly  warranted)  must,  for  the  time  being,  place  them  pro- 
visionally in  the  Algonkian.  They  might  appropriately  be 
named  the  “Monroe”  slates. 

QUARTZ  ROCKS THE  VOLCANIC  SERIES. 

The  middle  member  of  Emmons’  Lower  Taeonic  is  the  quartz 
rock  (white  and  brown  sandstone),  which  exists  in  many  varieties.1 
The  work  of  the  present  Survey  did  not  discover  any  true 
granular  quartzites,  such  as  characterize  the  Cambrian  (even  in 
a metamorphosed  state)  ; and  in  fact,  from  Emmons’  and  Kerr’s 
descriptions,  their  rocks  of  this  class  are  rather  fine-grained,  thin- 
bedded,  quartzose  schists,  and  devitrified  quartz  or  chert,  often 
porphyrized  and  brecciated.  It  is  probable  that  Emmons’  fine- 
grained, talcose  quartz  corresponds  to  the  silicified  argyllites  and 
schists  (p.  31),  whose  origin  is  due  to  a later  hydro-silicification.2 

The  crypto-crystalline  varieties  of  quartz  (flint,  chert,  liorn- 
stone,  agatized,  chalcedonic)  are  of  especial  interest,  and  warrant 
a careful  consideration.  It  is  again  deplored  in  this  connection  that 
the  present  report  did  not  allow  the  time  for  a microscopic  study 
of  the  thin  sections.  Such  cherty,  flint-like  masses  have  been 
described  from  the  Sam  Christian,  Moratoek,  Silver  Valley  and 
H oover  Hill  mines.  It  is  at  present  the  opinion  that  these  rocks 
belong  to  the  class  of  ancient  (pre-Cambrian)  acid  volcanics,  in 
many  respects  analagous  to,  and  probably  contemporaneous  with, 
similar  rocks  of  South  Mountain  in  Maryland  and  Pennsylvania, 
whose  discovery  was  first  announced  by  the  late  Dr.  Geo.  II. 
Williams.3  Miss  Florence  Bascom  has  described  the  origin, 
devitrification  and  structure  of  the  acid  types  of  these  rocks.4 
Dr.  Williams  has  outlined  the  general  distribution  of  the 
ancient  volcanic  rocks  along  the  eastern  border  of  Korth  America.5 
These  rocks  are  analogous  also  to  the  halleflintas  and  eurites  of 
Southern  Sweden,  described  as  volcanic  rocks  by  Nordenskjdld. 

1 Geol.  Rent.,  Midland  counties  of  N.  C.,  1856,  p.  50, 

2 Ibid,  p.  51. 

3 The  Volcanic  Rocks  of  the  South  Mts.  in  Pa.  and  Md.  Am.  Jour.  Sci.  xliv.,  Dec.  1892, 
pp.  48M96.  Scientif.  Amer.,  Jan.  14..  1893. 

4 Jour.  Geology,  Vol.  1,  1893,  pp.  813  832. 

2 Ibid,  Vol.  2,  1894,  pp.  1-31. 


38 


GOLD  DEPOSITS  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


They  would  also  correspond  to  Hunt’s  pre-Cambrian  petro-silex 
rocks,  called  by  him  the  Arvonian,  being  below  his  Huronian. 

The  hornstones  have  every  appearance  of  being  acid  feldspar 
quartz  rocks,  and  will  probably  be  found,  on  further  study,  to 
belong  to  the  class  of  apo-rhyolites,  a term  introduced  by  Hiss 
Bascom  to  denote  a devitrified  rhyolite.  Emmons  describes  the 
type  very  well  under  the  head  of  quartzite.  ( p.  32)1  They 
resemble  perfectly  crypto-crystalline  quartz,  and  on  weathering 
present  an  earthy,  yellowish  surface.  The  color  of  the  fresh  rock 
is  drab,  bluish  to  almost  black  ; translucent  on  edges  ; fracture  flat 
conchoidal  ; sometimes  banded,  showing  flow  structure,  as 
described  from  the  Silver  Yalley  mine  where  the  rock  is  locally 
called  “gun  flint.”  It  often  contains  small  crystals  of  metallic 
sulphurets,  chiefly  pyrite  with  some  galena,  chalcopyrite  and 
blende. 

From  the  Moratock  mine  a siliceous  rock  is  described  (p.  79) 
as  a quartz  porphyry,  which  at  first  sight  resembles  a compact, 
homogeneous  hornstone,  but  which  on  close  examination  is  found 
to  be  dotted  with  small,  dark  colored,  glassy  specks ; these  are 
minute  quartz  crystals.  The  true  porphyritie  character  of  the 
rock  is  best  illustrated  in  the  weathered  specimens,  the  feld- 
spathic  groundmass  being  decomposed  and  altered,  leaving  the 
quartz  phenocrysts  clearly  outlined.  The  flow  structure  is  also 
beautifully  brought  out  in  the  weathered  groundmass. 

Emmons,  in  the  description  of  his  quartzite,  says  they  are 
“often  porphyritie  or  porphyrized,  and  frequently  the  fresh  frac- 
ture is  dotted  with  small  limpid  crystals  of  quartz.”  In  the 
enumeration  of  the  varieties  of  Lower  Taconic  quartzites 
(p.  30)  he  mentions1  “a  cherty  and  apparently  porphyrized  quartz, 
which  contains  feldspar,  which  decomposes  and  leaves  a rough 
porous  mass  similar  to  burrhstone.”  Kerr  says:2  “In  Montgomery 
county,  in  a very  heavy  ledge  of  siliceous  slate,  occurs  a siliceous 
conglomerate  which  is  filled  for  hundreds  of  feet  with  very  singu- 
lar, siliceous  concretions,  some  of  which  Dr.  Emmons  has 
described  under  the  name  of  Paleotrochis ; but  the  rock  for 


1 Geol.  Report,  Midland  Counties  of  N.  C.,1856,  p.  51. 

2This  Bulletin  p.  83;  and  Geology  of  North  Carolina,  1S75,  p.  132. 


QUARTZ  ROCKS THE  VOLCANIC  SERIES. 


39 


several  miles,  as  well  as  at  this  particular  locality,  contains  a 
multitude  of  rounded  and  ovoid  masses,  from  the  smallest  sizes 
to  that  of  a hen's  egg,  showing  the  wide  prevalence  of  conditions 
favorable  to  the  operation  of  concretionary  forces.”  These  gen- 
tlemen have  without  much  doubt  described  the  quartz  porphyry 
of  the  Moratock  mine. 

It  appears  highly  probable  that  at  least  some  of  these  siliceous, 
pebbly  concretions  are  spherulites.  Whether  they  constitute 
Emmons’  pebbly  beds,  from  which  he  determined  the  sediment- 
ary origin  of  his  Taconic,  is  not  known.  However  it  is  quite 
possible  that  they  misled  him  in  that  direction.  Certain  it  is 
that  he  says:1  “I  found,  however,  many  beds  among  them 
(slates  and  associated  rocks)  which  looked  like  sediments,  were 
porphyrized  and  somewhat  changed,  though  not  strictly  porphy- 
ries. I found,  after  much  search  too,  beds  which  were  unequiv- 
ocally pebbly;  and  finally,  to  remove  all  doubt,  I was  fortunate 
in  discovering  that  the  porphyrized  beds  also  frequently  con- 
tained pebbles  ; proving  most  conclusively  that  they  are  sedi- 
ments which  were  partially  altered.” 

Thus  he  evidently  mistook  either  the  concretionary  form  of 
the  weathered  porphyry  and  felsite,  or  else  the  partially  rounded 
felsite  fragments  in  the  accompanying  pyroclastic  breccias 
( which  will  be  spoken  of  further  on  ),  for  pebbles. 

Prof.  Marsh  in  1867  made  a short  study  of  Emmons'  Paletro- 
chis,2  and  in  his  words  : “ An  examination  of  the  interior  of 

several  specimens  clearly  indicated  that  they  were  not  corals, 
and  as  soon  as  microscopical  specimens  could  be  prepared,  they 
were  more  carefully  examined,  but  no  trace  of  organic  structure 
could  be  detected,  the  entire  mass  being  evidently  a fine  grained 
quartz.  The  specimens  examined  were  undoubtedly  authentic 
examples  of  Paleotrochis,  as  some  of  them  presented  to  the  Yale 
cabinet  by  Prof.  Dana,  were  sent  to  him  by  Prof.  Emmons,  and. 
the  rest  were  given  to  the  writer  by  Prof.  W.  C.  Kerr,  the  pres- 
ent State  Geologist  of  ISTorth  Carolina.”  ****** 


1 Geol.  Report,  Midland  counties  ot  N.  C.,  1856,  p.  47. 

!Am.  Jour.  Sci.  (2),  rol.  45,  1808,  p.  217. 


40 


GOLD  DEPOSITS  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


“Admitting  the  inorganic  nature  of  these  remarkable  forms,  their 
origin  becomes  an  interesting  question,  and  it  certainly  is  not 
easy  to  give  a satisfactory  explanation  of  it.  They  appear,  how- 
ever, to  have  some  analogy  with  “ cone  in  cone,”  which,  as  the 
writer  has  shown  elsewhere,1  is  probably  due  to  the  action  of 
pressure  on  concretionary  structure  when  forming.  In  some 
respects  the  two  are  quite  distinct,  but  evidence  of  pressure  is 
clearly  to  be  seen  in  both.” 

Kerr  evidently  agreed  with  Marsh  as  to  the  inorganic  nature 
of  the  Paleotrochis,  and  Mr.  C.  D.  Walcott,  the  director  of  the 
U.  S.  Geological  Survey,  entertains  the  same  opinion. 

According  to  both  Emmons’  and  Kerr’s  descriptions,  these 
peculiar  forms  appear  to  occur  in  the  acid  effusive  rocks.  In  his 
descriptive  section  of  the  rocks  which  carry  the  Paleotrochis, 
Emmons  names  the  following  :2 

Granular  quartz,  sometimes  vitreous  and  filled  with  fossils  and  siliceous 
concretions  of  the  size  of  almonds. 

Slaty  quartzite  with  very  few  fossils. 

Slate  without  fossils. 

White  quartz  more  or  less  vitrified,  filled  with  fossils  and  concretions. 

Jointed  granular  quartz  with  only  a few  fossils. 

And  he  says  : “ These  fossils  also  occur  in  the  variety  of 

quartz  or  quartzite,  which  I have  described  as  burrhstone,  and 
which  is  often  porphyrized.” 

An  interesting  point  is  suggested  in  the  above  succession  of 
rocks,  namely,  that  there  was  more  than  one  volcanic  outbreak, 
and  during  at  least  one  period  of  inactivity  slates  were  deposited. 

These  acid  volcanics  are  accompanied  by  pyroclastic  breccias 
and  basic  eruptives,  which  are  usually  schistose.  The  same  suc- 
cession is  also  common  to  the  South  Mountain  region  in  Mary- 
land and  Pennsylvania.  Such  rocks  are  described  under  the 
head  of  the  Parker,  Sam  Christian,  Moratock,  Hoover  Hill,  Jones 
and  Parish  mines.  The  basic  rocks  are  usually  of  a dark  green 
color,  and  are  perhaps  pyroxenic  in  composition  ; sometimes 
propvllitic  ; they  cover  large  areas,  and  are  often  massive  or  only 
partly  schistose  ; again  they  are  largely  sheared  into  schists.  A 


rproc.  Amer.  Assoc.  A <lv.  Sci.,  vol.  16,  1867,  p.  135. 

2Geol.  Report,  Midland  counties  ol  N.  C.,  1856,  p.  61. 


QUARTZ  ROCKS THE  VOLCANIC  SERIES. 


11 


wide  outcrop  of  this  rock  was  followed  from  the  Hoover  Hill 
westward  to  the  Jones,  Parish,  Silver  Hill,  and  Silver  Valley 
mines,  and  thence  westward  to  near  the  Lexington  granite  belt, 
a distance  of  over  20  miles.  It  is  quite  probable  that  most  of 
the  chloritic  schists,  in  this  part  of  the  Carolina  slate  belt,  are  of 
this  nature. 

The  breccias  consist  of  this  basic  material  in  which  are  im- 
bedded angular  fragments  of  the  felsite  (apo-rhyolite)  or  por- 
phyry up  to  one  foot  in  diameter.  They  are  distinctly  pyroclas- 
tic breccias  and  lienee  the  basic  rock,  or  porphyrite,  as  it  may  be 
provisionally  called,  is  later  than  the  quartz  porphyries  and 
rhyolites.  This  would  agree  with  the  generally  accepted  law  of 
eruptions,  i.  e.,  from  the  normal  to  the  acid  to  the  basic  types. 

Emmons,  in  his  description  of  tire  Upper  Taconic,  mentions 
brecciated  conglomerates  as  the  most  remarkable  mass  of  this 
division.  As  he  states,  “ It  has  an  argillaceous  or  chloritic  base. 
The  mass  is  composed  in  the  main  of  fragments  of  other  rocks, 
mostly  retaining  an  angular  form  ; but  frequently,  rounded  and 
worn  rocks  are  enclosed  in  the  mass.  The  fragments  are  some- 
times 18  inches  and  even  2 feet  long.”  1 

Kerr  mentions  “ brecciated  and  conglomerate  siliceous  slates, 
the  pebbles  sometimes  a foot  and  upwards  in  diameter,  frequently 
chloritic  and  often  passing  into  liornstone  and  chert,  and  occa- 
sionally into  quartzite.”  2 

That  these  rocks  correspond  to  the  above  described  pyroclastic 
breccias  is  at  once  evident. 

These  ancient  volcanics  have  also  been  found  covering  large 
areas  in  Chatham  and  Orange  bounties,  near  the  eastern  edge  of 
the  Carolina  slate  belt,  and  fully  10  miles  east  of  the  region 
including:  the  above  described  localities.  During  the  summer  of 
1893,  Dr.  Geo.  H.  Williams  in  company  with  Prof.  J.  A. 
Holmes,  made  a reeonnaisance  trip  through  Chatham  and 
Orange  counties,  the  results  of  which  are  included  in  Dr 
Williams’  paper  on  the  distribution  of  the  ancient  volcanic  rocks 
in  eastern  Korth  America.3  He  says:  “ In  a drive  from  San- 


1 Geol.  Report  Midland  Counties  of  N.  C.  1856.  p.  67. 

- Report  of  the  Geol.  survey  of  N.  C..  Vnl.  I,  1875,  p.  132. 

3 Journal  of  Geology,  Vol.  2, 1894,  pp.  1-32. 


42 


GOLD  DEPOSITS  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


ford  to  Chapel  Hill  an  abundance  of  the  most  typical  ancient 
lavas,  mostly  of  the  acid  type,  was  encountered.  On  the  road 
from  Sanford  to  Pittsboro  purple  felsites  and  porphyries  showing 
spherulitic  and  beautiful  flowT  structures  and  accompanied  by  pyro- 
clastic breccias  and  tuffs,  were  met  with  two  miles  north  of  Deep 
river  and  were  almost  continuously  exposed  on  Rocky  river.  Here 
devitrified  acid  glasses  with  chains  of  spherulitic  and  eutaxitie 
structure  were  collected,  while  beyond,  as  far  as  Bynum  on  Haw 
river,  4 miles  northeast  of  Pittsboro,  the  only  rocks  seen  were  of 
the  same  general  character.  On  the  farm  of  Spence  Taylor,  Esq.,  in 
Pittsboro,  a bright  red  porphyry  with  flow'  lines  is  exposed  in  so 
altered  a condition  that  it  can  easily  be  cut  into  any  form  with 
a knife,  though  it  still  preserves  all  the  details  of  its  structure. 
* * * * * * Three-quarters  of  a mile  beyond  Pittsboro, 

on  the  Bynum  road,  there  is  a considerable  exposure  of  a basic 
amygdaloid.  South  of  Hackney’s  Cross  roads  there  are  other 
excellent  exposures  of  the  ancient  rhyolite  with  finely  developed 
spherulitic  and  flow  structures.  * * * * * Another  locality 

in  the  volcanic  belt  was  visited  on  Morgan’s  run,  about  2 miles 
south  of  Chapel  Hill.  Here  are  to  be  seen  admirable  exposures 
of  volcanic  flow  and  breccias  with  finer  tuff  deposits,  which  have 
been  extensively  sheared  into  slates  bv  dynamic  agency. 
Towards  the  east  and  north  these  rocks  pass  under  the  trans- 
gression of  Hewark  sandstone.  * * * * * * From  still 

another  locality  at  the  Cross  Road  near  the  northern  boundary 
of  Chatham  county,  15  miles  southwest  of  Chapel  Hill,  Prof. 
Holmes  informs  me  that  specimens  of  undoubted  volcanic  rocks 
have  recently  been  secured.  He  has  also  sent  me,  within  the 
past  month,  a suite  of  similar  specimens  from  Pace's  Bridge,  on 
Haw  river,  3 miles  above  Bynum.” 

Since  that  time  the  same  volcanics  have  been  found  at  the 
Harrows  of  the  Yadkin  river,  on  the  Deep  river  at  Lockville, 
Chatham  county,  and  for  5 or  6 miles  northwest  of  Lockville.  At 
the  last  two  localities  the  masses  are  often  brecciated  and  usually 
sheared  into  perfect  crystalline  chloritic-  schists. 

It  is  of  interest  to  note  in  the  above  descriptions  of  Dr. 
Williams,  the  occurrence,  on  the  Taylor  farm  near  Pittsboro.  of 


CONCLUSIONS. 


43 


a bright  red  porphyry  with  flow  lines,  in  so  altered  a conditon 
that  it  can  be  easily  cut  into  any  form  with  a knife.  This  is 
undoubtedly  the  same  rock,  and  from  the  same  locality,  described 
by  Emmons  (p  31.)  as  a decomposed  red  variety  of  his  Upper 
Taconic  argillaceous  or  clay  slate.  1 

CONCLUSIONS. 

In  this  brief  resume  then,  we  can  recognize  Emmons’  Taconic 
and  Kerr’s  Huronian  rocks  of  the  central  ore-bearing  slate  belt. 

The  bitter  controversies  regarding  the  Taconic  question 
among  geologists  are  well  known,  and  need  not  be  taken  up  here. 
It  is  sufficient  to  say  that  geologists  by  later  and  more  detailed 
work  and  study  have  seen  fit  to  differentiate  various  members  of 
the  old  Taconic  System  in  different  parts  of  the  country,  and 
refer  them  to  more  definite  horizons.  Thus  the  granular  quartz 
of  Emmons’  typical  Taconic  section  in  the  Berkshire  Hills  of 
Massachusetts,  has  been  found  to  be  characterized  by  the  Olenel- 
lus  fauna  of  the  Lower  Cambrian  ; and  the  Berkshire  or  Stock- 
bridge  limestone  by  the  Chazy-Trenton,  and  perhaps  at  its  base 
by  an  Upper  Cambrian  fauna  ; and  the  original  Lower  Taconic 
slate  of  Emmons  is  correlated,  by  its  stratigraphic  position,  with 
the  Hudson  shales.2  In  1888,  Walcott,  in  studying  a section  of 
these  rocks  in  Newfoundland,  placed,  from  paleontological  evi- 
dences, the  “Bed  Sandrock”  series,  the  Georgia  shale  and  slate 
series,  the  “Granular  Quartz”  and  the  “Upper  Taconic”  of 
Emmons  beneath  the  Middle  Cambrian  or  Parodoxides  zone  of  the 
Atlantic  coast..3 

And  so  the  rocks  of  the  old  Taconic  or  Huronian  belt  in 
North  Carolina  must  also  in  time  be  differentiated  and  recorrel- 
ated, when  they  have  been  more  carefully  studied. 

Along  the  extreme  western  edge  of  the  State  from  Mitchell  to 
Cherokee  county,  the  quartzites,  slates,  limestones,  and  con- 
glomerates (here  also  in  a great  measure  sheared  and  metamor- 
phosed) which  constitute  Kerr’s  western  Huronian  belt  or  “Chero- 

1 Geol.  Kept,  Midi  an  a Counties  of  N.  C.,  1856 ; p.  65. 

2 United  States  Geological  Survey.  Bulletin  81.  Correlation  Papers:  Cambrian:  by  C. 
D.  Walcott:  1891,  p.  243. 

3 Ibid, p.  113. 


44 


GOLD  DEPOSITS  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


kee  Slates,”  have  been  referred  to  the  “Ocoee”1  by  the  recent 
work  of  the  United  States  Geological  Survey. 

Emmons  was  in  a measure  quite  correct  in  calling  the  Taconic 
rocks  of  central  North  Carolina  the  bottom  sediments,  and 
placing  them  below  the  Silurian.  The  absence  of  fossils  in  the 
slates,  however,  necessitates  our  going  back  still  another  step, 
and  placing  them  below  the  Cambrian  sediments,  in  the  Algon- 
kian,  which  YanHise  has  defined  as  including:  all  recognizable 
pre-Cambrian  elastics  and  their  equivalent  crystallines,  the  base 
of  the  Cambrian  being  placed  at  the  Olenellus  fauna.2  Here  the 
matter  must  rest  until  we  can  find  fossils  in  the  rocks,  or 
verify  the  organic  character  of  Emmons’  Paleotrochis  ; or  until 
we  can  trace  the  rocks  into  a terrane  of  known  age.  So  also  the 
pyroclastic  volcanics  must  be  looked  upon  as  pre-Cambrian. 

It  is  of  interest  also  to  note  that  here,  as  in  other  portions  of 
eastern  North  America,  the  ancient  volcanics  occur  in  close 
proximity  to  the  western  edge  of  the  Jura-Trias  basin.  Adopting 
Sues!’  theory  of  the  formation  of  mountains,  we  may  look  upon 
this  central  belt  of  sheared  and  faulted  slateS  as  the  levelled  site 
of  an  ancient  Atlantic  mountain  range  ; while  the  bordering  .Jura- 
Trias  represents  a transgression  formed  by  the  sunken  block  on 
the  east.  Early  phases  of  this  subsidence  were  accompanied  by 
the  exhibition  of  volcanic  forces,  which  found  outlets  for  their 
material. 


THE  GENESIS  OF  THE  GOLD  ORES. 

This  involves  a consideration  of  (1)  the  nature  of  the  deposits, 
(2)  the  causes  of  the  formation  of  the  spaces  occupied  by  the 
ores,  (3)  the  manner  of  their  filling. 

i.  THE  NATURE  OF  THE  DEPOSITS. 

From  the  descriptions  of  the  various  mines  examined  in  this 
belt  it  is  evident  that  the  gold  ores  exist  in  two  principal  struct- 
ural forms,  namely  as  quartz  fissure  veins,  and  as  impregnations, 

1 The  age  of  the  “Ocoee"  is  still  indefinite,  and  may  be  anywhere  from  the  Algonkian 
to  the  Carboniferous. 

2 United  States  Geological  Survey.  Bulletin  S6.  Correlation  Papers : Archean— Algon- 
Jflan,  p.  405. 


THE  GENESIS  OF  THE  GOLD  ORES. 


45 


lenticular,  stringerform  and  irregular  dissemminations  in  the 
country  schists  and  slates. 

The  fissure  veins  in  the  slates  and  schists  are  generally  diffi- 
cult to  distinguish  as  such.  Their  structure  is  much  more  evi- 
dent in  the  granitic  and  other  eruptive  rocks.  In  the  schists  the 
larger  regular  quartz  lodes  lie  apparently  interlaminated  in  the 
country,  or  have  the  appearance  of  lenticular  intercalations. 
However,  even  here  they  can  usually  be  shown  to  intersect  the 
schistosity,  generally  at  a very  low  angle  (as  indicated  at  the 
Rocky  River,  Burns,  and  Mann  Arrington  mines),  Such  fissures 
have,  as  is  usually  the  case,  irregular  boundaries,  swelling  and 
pinching;  and  it  is  also  noticeable  that  they  have  on  a large  scale 
a lenticular  structure,  at  least  in  linear  extent  (Rocky  River 
mine).  Certain  it  is  that-  clean  cut  veinlets  of  quartz  and  calcite 
do  occur,  distinctly  intersecting  the  cleavage  and  schistosity  (as 
seen  at  the  Bonnie  Bell,  Howie,  and  Moore  mines).  The  Mon- 
roe slates  also  contain  true  quartz  fissure  veinlets.  (See  p.  36.) 

The  more  usual  mode  of  occurence  of  the  ores  is  as  small  len- 
ticular and  stringerform  bodies  of  auriferous,  sulphuretted  quartz, 
and  as  lenticular  and  irregular  disseminations  of  sulphurets  in 
the  country  slates  and  schists,  which  are  usually  silicified,  to 
some  extent  at  least.  Such  are  the  Scandinavian  “fahlbands”, 
which  are  described  as  belts  of  schists  impregnated  with  sulphides. 

Very  often  the  slaty  walling  of  a quartz  body  is  impregnated 
for  some  distance  with  auriferous  sulphurets,  ( as  at  the  Rocky 
River,  Buffalo  and  other  mines).  Again  in  some  cases  there  is 
apparently  no  distinct  quartz  lead  whatever,  but  the  slates  them- 
selves are  pyritic  over  certain  widths  and  constitute  the  ore 
bodies  (as  at  the  Russell,  Howie,  Bonnie  Bell,  and  other  mines). 

2.  THE  CAUSES  OF  THE  FORMATION  OF  THE  SPACES  OCCUPIED 

BY  THE  ORE. 

Ho  instances  of  metasomatic  (substitution  or  replacement) 
formation  of  the  ores  has  been  observed.  They  must  therefore 
have  found  open  spaces  waiting  for  their  deposition.  Further- 
more, it  is  evident  that  the  origin  of  the  ores  was  not  contempo- 
raneous with  that  of  the  schists,  but  later ; this  will  be  spoken 


46 


GOLD  DEPOSITS  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


of  again,  ( p.  51).  The  slates  and  schists  are  everywhere 
cleaved  and  sheared,  the  usual  strike  being  H.  20°  to  55°  E.,  and 
the  dip  steeply  to  the  Eh  W.  Observations  show  that  the  result- 
ant dynamic  force  which  induced  this  structure,  acted  as  a rule 
from  the  northwest  downward,  developing  normal  faulting,  with 
but  slight  compression.  Unfortunately  opportunities  did  not 
allow  of  observations  wdiich  showed  direct  illustrations  of  fault- 
ing, but  it  is  certainly  reasonable  to  suppose  that  dislocation 
must  have  generally  taken  place,  if  but  with  a very  minute 
throw.  And  it  is  accepted  that  this  dislocation,  on  larger  and 
smaller  scales,  produced  the  spaces  of  dicission  as  Posepnv  calls 
them,1  which  were  afterwards  filled  wfith  the  ore  bearing  solu- 
tions. 

Certain  maximum  lines  of  faulting  were  developed  which 
made  room  for  the  larger  fissure  veins,  on  either  side  of  which 
the  smaller  dislocations  formed  belts  of  variable  width.  Or, 
where  the  tension,  compression,  resistance,  etc.,  were  more  uni- 
form, larger  fissures  were  absent  altogether.  The  existence  of 
small,  isolated  impregnations  of  crystalline  sulphurets  in  the 
slates  may  possibly  have  another  explanation.  But  the  lenticu- 
lar and  stringerform  quartz  bodies,  even  those  of  minute  size, 
will  scarcely  admit  of  any  other.  The  main  course  of  these 
belts  is  hi.  20°  to  55°  E.,  and  the  dip  is  from  55°  to  85°  X.  AV. 
Isolated  instances  of  crossfissuring  occur  ( Ore  Hill  ; the  Phifer 
mine  ; and  the  Howie  mine,  where  cross  fissures  are  filled  with 
“ reibungs-breccia,”  ) but  these  are  rare  occurrences.  Indeed  it 
seems  reasonable  to  suppose  that  in  such  a sericitic,  chloritic, 
or  kaolinitic  material  as  these  slates  and  schists  are  composed 
of  the  chief  yielding  planes  should  have  been  in  parallel  direc- 
tions to  the  cleavage. 

The  frequent  diabase  dikes,  which  exist  throughout  the  region, 
occupy  fissures  which  strike  usually  northwest,  across  the  gen- 
eral schistosity  of  the  country,  and  intersect  the  ore  fissure. 
These  dikes  are  usually  of  considerable  width,  from  a few  feet  to 


JThe  Genesis  of  Ore  Deposits,  by  F.  Posepny.  Trans.  Am.  Inst,  of  Mining  Engineers, 
18y3,  vol.  23,  pp.  197-370. 


THE  GENESIS  OF  THE  GOLD  ORES. 


47 


as  much  as  150  feet.  They  may  be  looked  upon  as  paraclastic1 
fissures,  while  the  ore  fissures  are  diaclastic. 

THE  MANNER  OF  FILLING  THE  FISSURE  OPENINGS. 

The  theories  of  the  filling  of  open  spaces  (spaces  of  dicission 
and  spaces  of  dissolution)  by  their  xenogenous2  mineral  contents 
are  so  manifold,  and  they  have  been  the  subject  of  so  much  con- 
troversy among  geologists  and  mining  engineers,  that  care  must 
be  exercised  in  their  application.  Recently  several  most  admir- 
able treatises  have  appeared  on  this  subject,  chief  among  them 
being  “The  Genesis  of  Ore  Deposits,”  by  F.  Posepny  (Trans. 
Amer.  Inst.  Mining  Eng.,  Mol.  23,  1893,  pp.  197-370);  and  “The 
Ore  Deposits  of  the  United  States,”  by  Jas.  F.  Kemp,  (published 
by  the  Scientific  Publishing  Co.,  N.  Y.,  1893,  second  ed.,  1894). 
Work  of  great  excellence  and  value  has  also  been  published  in 
the  monographs  of  the  United  States  Geological  Survey,  notably 
by  Becker,  Emmons,  Curtis,  Hague,  etc. 

W e can  look  upon  the  manner  of  filling  of  the  spaces  of  dicis- 
sion formed  by  faulting  and  fracturing,  in  the  area  under  con- 
sideration, in  no  other  way  than  by  the  ascension  of  mineral 
bearing  waters  from  below.  This  is  the  ascension  theory  upon 
which  Posepny,  very  properly,  lays  such  great  stress,  though  he 
is  probably  inclined  to  make  unduly  general  application  of  the 
same. 

And  we  connect  the  origin  of  these  deep  seated  waters  with 
the  last  stages  of  the  volcanic  activity  that  was  general  along 
this  line  of  disturabnce,  the  so-called  solfataric,  mofetti  and 
fumarole  stages. 

Heated  carbonated,  alkaline  waters  are  capable  of  taking  silica 
and  metallic  elements  and  sulphides  into  solution.  Such  waters, 
perhaps  in  a very  dilute  condition,  ascended  and  circulated 
through  the  open  fissures  and  spaces,  and  deposited  their 
mineral  contents  on  the  walls,  by  virtue  of  relief  of 
pressure,  reduction  of  temperature,  and  perhaps  of  cer- 
tain chemical  reactions.  The  frequent  silicification  of  the 

1 Paraclastic  dike  Assures  are  such  as  were  opened  along  entirely  new  lines,  while  dia- 
clastic ore  Assures  are  such  as  were  opened  along  cleavage  lines  which  already  existed. 

2 Minerals  foreign  to  the  rocks  contiguous  to  the  vein,  i.  e.  brought  up  from  below. 

4 


48 


GOLD  DEPOSITS  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


slates  and  schists  has  been  noted,  and  must  be  ascribed  to  this 
permeation  by  silicified  waters.  Mr.  Becker  supposed,  very 
reasonably,  that  there  might  be  some  direct  connection  between 
this  fact  and  the  richness  of  the  ores,  i.  e.  the  highly  silicified 
schists  might  be  also  more  highly  charged  with  metallic  contents. 
Close  inquiry  into  this,  however,  has  shown  us  that  they  are  not 
necessarily  richer  than  the  softer  varieties,  when  such  are  impreg- 
nated with  xenogenous  minerals.  And  it  therefore  seems  that  the 
main  silicification  went  on  independently,  it  may  have  been  at 
the  same  time  with  the  deposition  of  metallic  minerals  or  subse- 
quently ; it  was  probably  more  of  a chemical  than  a mechanical 
action,  i.  e.  certain  portions  of  the  original  country  rock  may 
have  been  so  composed  chemically  as  to  have  permitted  of  par- 
tial replacement  by  silicic  acid,  while  others  did  not. 

In  two  instances  only  ( Burns  and  Howie  mines ) was 
free  gold  found  directly  in  the  soft  sericitic  schist,  which  was 
apparantly  entirely  unsilicified  and  free  from  quartz.  However, 
the  absence  of  quartz  or  silicification  in  even  an  incipient  stage 
cannot  be  regarded  as  favorable  to  the  metallic  richness  of  the 
ore  bodies. 

The  diabase  dikes  which  occur  in  this  region  appear  in  gen- 
eral to  have  exercised  a notably  favorble  influence  on  the  rich- 
ness of  the  ore  bodies.  The  ores  are  often  richer  in  the  vicinity 
of  the  dikes.  At  the  Haile  mine  in  Lancaster  county,  S.  C.,  this 
is  very  marked.1  Presumably  the  formation  of  these  dike  fis- 
sures has  stimulated  and  intensified  the  circulation  of  the  mineral 
bearing  waters  below,  and  it  is  even  probable  that  these  waters 
may  have  derived  part  of  their  metallic  contents  from  the  dia- 
basic  magma,  which  is  often  slightly  pyritic,  and  has  in  one  case 
at  least  been  found  to  contain  free  gold.2 

The  -impregnations  of  small  isolated  crystals,  up  to  £ inch 
cube,  or  fine  crystalline  aggregates  of  sulphurets,  usually  pyrite, 
in  the  soft,  unsilicified  slates,  within  the  limits  of  the  ore  belt 
and  at  a distance  from  the  same,  still  remains  to  be  explained. 

1 The  Geology  of  the  Haile  Mine,  S.  C.,  by  A.  Thies  and  A.  Mezger,  Trans.  Amer.  Inst. 
Min.  Engrs.,  1890,  Vol.  xis.  pp.  595-B01. 

2 Ores  of  North  Carolina,  Raleigh,  1887.  Appendix  B.  “On  some  Peculiarities  in  the 
Occurence  of  gold  in  N.  C.’\  by  W.  C.  Kerr,  pp.  327-328.;  also  Trans.  Amer.  Inst.  Min. 
Engrs.,  Vol.  x.,  1882,  p.  475. 


THE  GENESIS  OF  THE  GOLD  ORES. 


49 


One  explanation  would  be  that  the  mineral  solutions  percolated 
through  minute,  pre-existing  pores  in  the  country  rock  in  which 
they  deposited  their  contents.  The  only  other  way  in  which  to 
account  for  their  presence  would  be  by  a metasomatic  change  or 
replacement,  such  as  suggested  by  Becker  for  the  genisis  of 
pyritic  impregnations  in  the  altered  rocks  of  the  Comstock  Lode 
in  Nevada,  by  the  action  of  hydrosulphuric  acid  solutions  on 
ferruginous  bisilicates.1 

The  presence  of  free  gold  in  the  soft  slates  at  the  Burns  and 
Howie  mines,  above  alluded  to,  might  be  explained  as  a residuum 
from  such  auriferous  pyrites,  the  iron  sulphide  having  been  oxi- 
dized and  leached  out. 

Mr.  Becker  has  pointed  out  the  tendency  to  successive  depo- 
sition from  solutions  reaching  complete  saturation  for  separate 
minerals  at  different  points  in  space.2  This  explanation  may  be 
applicable  to  the  local  deposition  of  free  gold,  unaccompanied  by 
quartz  or  pyrit.e,  such  as  is  seen  in  the  line  coatings  on  the  cleav- 
age planes  of  the  unaltered  slates  at  the  Howie  mine. 

As  a rule  the  richer  ore  bodies  exist  as  shoots  or  chimneys, 
which  have  a pitch  of  their  own  in  the  vein,  and  which  must 
represent  the  main  course  of  maximum  circulation.  The  posi- 
tion of  these  shoots  may  bear  some  direct  relation  to  the  laws  of 
Assuring. 

Bosepny  is  inclined  to  accept  “ crustification  ” 3 phenomena 
as  an  infallible  proof  of  the  ascension  theory  of  vein  filling. 
While  this  may  be  disputed,  yet  in  connection  with  the  other 
facts  above  pointed  out  in  regard  to  the  deposits  under  consider- 
ation, incrustation  can  only  furnish  additional  evidence  of  the 
manner  and  sequence  of  filling. 

Several  observations  of  incrustation  were  made  ; probably  the 
best  example  was  met  with  at  the  Moore  mine  in  Union  county, 
as  shown  in  the  accompanying  figure  (Fig.  1). 

1 Geology  of  the  Comstock  Lode  and  Washoe  District ; by  George  F.  Becker ; United 
States  Geological  Survey ; Monograph  Ili,  1882,  p.  210. 

2 United  States  Geological  Survey ; Mineral  Resources  of  the  United  States  ; 1892,  p.  150. 

3 Mineral  deposits  on  the  walls  of  Assure  veins.  See  Posepny’s  Genesis  of  Ore  Deposits , 

1895,  p.  11. 


50 


GOLD  DEPOSITS  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


fPd  Siliciped  Schist. 

IAUU1  Galcite  (crystalline.) 
l.'-.'v'.-l  do.  (fine  granular) 
IffiM  S i derite. 

'1  I Quartz. 

(ME  C ha  I copy  rife 


FIG.  1.— Illustrating  crustiflcation  in  a specimen  from  the  Moore  mine.  Union  Co. 


It  illustrates  a narrow  fissure  containing  quartz  well  crystallized 
along  both  walls,  with  its  vertical  axis  at  right  angles  to  the  same. 
The  interior  is  filled  witli  fine  granular  calcite  and  some  well  crys- 
tallized” caleite  rhoinbohedrons;  small  specks  of  a light  brown  min- 
eral, probably  siderite,  are  distributed  in  the  calcite  and  against 
the  quartz.  The  quartz  contains  crystals  of  chalcopyrite.  Thus, 
the  quartz  and  chalcopyrite  were  the  first  minerals  to  crystallize 
out  of  the  solutions,  and  were  deposited  in  layers  or  bands  on 
both  walls  ; following  these  came  the  siderite  and  calcite. 

In  conclusion  of  this  part  of  the  subject  it  may  be  pointed  out 
that  Emmons’  supposition  that  the  gold  in  the  slates  and  schists 
is  of  sedimentary  origin  (p.  29)  is  thoroughly  untenable.  It  is 
true  that  there  is  generally  in  the  South,  beyond  the  zone  of 
glaciation,  an  upper  layer  of  decomposed  rock,  varying  from  a 
few  feet  to  150  feet  in  depth.  This  may  be  in  instances  subject 
to  motion  and  rearrangement  whereby  the  broken  down  quartz 
veins,  with  their  gold,  may  be  concentrated,  in  places  forming 
placer  deposits  ; or  the  gold  may  even  be  distributed  quite  gen- 
erally through  such  a secondary  mass  (Parker,  and  Portis  mines). 
But  Emmons  could  not  have  referred  to  this  alone,  for  his  asser- 
tion is  too  broad.1 


1 Geol.  Report,  Midland  counties  of  N.  C.  1856,  pp.  57,  64. 


AGE  OF  THE  ORE  DEPOSITS. 


51 


AGE  OF  THE  ORE  DEPOSITS. 

The  filling  of  the  dicission  spaces  took  place  subsequent  to 
the  force  producing  schistosity.  This  appears  a fortiori  from 
what  has  been  said  regarding  the  causes  of  the  formation  of  the 
spaces  occupied  by  the  ores,  and  the  manner  of  filling.  But  an 
additional  proof  is  offered  by  the  fact  that  in  almost  every 
instance  fragments  of  the  slate  and  schist  country  rock  may  he 
found  included  in  the  quartz. 

In  the  extreme  southwestern  part  of  the  State,  Cherokee 
county,  the  auriferous  quartz  veins  occur  in  the  Ocoee  rocks, 
and  are  therefore  of  Algonkian  or  Paleozoic  age.  However,  this 
region  is  too  distant  to  be  used  as  positive  evidence  in  correla- 
tion here.  There  may  have  been  two  eras  of  vein  formation. 

The  investigations  of  the  Jura-Trias  basal  conglomerates 
prove  that  the  origin  of  the  gold  must  be  pre  Jura-Triassic. 
The  presence  of  gold  bearing  fissure  veins  in  the  Monroe  slates 
(p.  36)  shows  that  their  age  must  be  post  Algonkian  or  possibly 
late  Algonkian.  The  existence  of  ore  bodies  in  the  Pre- 
Cambrian  volcanic  rocks  furnishes  additional  ground  for  this 
statement. 


52 


GOLD  DEPOSITS  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  ORE  DEPOSITS  AND  MINES  IN  THE 
CAROLINA  SLATE  BELT. 

MINES  IN  GRANVILLE  AND  PERSON  COUNTIES. 

The  belt  of  copper  ores  in  Granville  and  Person  counties1 
belong  here  geologically,  although  it  is  not  our  purpose  to  dis- 
cuss the  copper  deposits  of  this  section  at  any  length,  except  as 
they  may  be  relative  to  the  precious  metals. 

All  of  these  copper  ores  contain  both  gold  and  silver,  but  not 
in  large  proportions.  The  following  assays  of  ore  from  the 
Yancey  mine,  in  Person  county,  will  indicate  their  general 
character : 

Assays , Auriferous  Copper  Ores , Yancey  Mine , Person  County. 

(6)  (7)  (8) 

Gold,  per  ton $ 2.07 $ 2.07 8 2.07 

Silver 8.66....: 6.98....; 65 

Total $ 10.73 $ 9 05 $ 2.12 

Copper,  per  cent 48.17% 2616% 31.14% 

The  above  cited  contents  of  precious  metals  is  not  likely  to 
cut  a large  figure  in  the  gold  mining  industry  of  this  section,  but 
they  may  form  a most  important  item  of  profit  in  a well  con- 
ducted metallurgical  treatment  of  these  ores  for  copper. 

It  must  he  premised  that  neither  exploration  nor  exploitation 
is  advanced  enough  to  allow  of  more  than  approximate  state- 
ments. 

Dr.  Emmons,  in  his  report,2  estimated  the  copper  belt  to  be  5 
miles  in  length,  but  later  examinations  make  it  more  than  twice 
that  length,  for  it  makes  its  appearance  considerably  to  the 
north  of  the  Virginia  line,  and  extends  southwest  to  and  even 
beyond  the  Yancey  mine  in  Person  county.  . 

The  belt  is  almost  entirely  confined  to  a ridge,  which,  with 
some  bends,  runs  in  a course  S.  15°  V.,  some  thirty  miles,  nearly 
to  Durham.  This  ridge,  although  of  no  great  height,  is  a some- 

1 Ores  of  North  Carolina.  Geological  Survey  of  N.  C..  bv  W.  C.  Kerr  and  Geo.  B.  Hanna- 
lSSL  p.  214. 

2 Geology  of  the  Midland  Counties  of  N.  C.,  1S56,  pp.  344  et.  seq. 


ALAMANCE,  OKANGE  AND  CHATHAM. 


53 


what  prominent  feature  in  the  landscape,  and  slopes  very  grad- 
ually both  to  the  eastward  and  westward,  and  is  everywhere 
strewn  with  abundant  fragments  from  broken  down  quartz  veins 
or  seams,  The  schists  are  very  hard  and  silicified,  and  the  adja- 
cent matter  sometimes  shades  gradually  into  ore.  The  strike  is 
from  1ST.  10°  to  20°  E.,  and  the  dip  70°  to  80°  S.  E. 

The  veins  are  approximately  conformable  to  the  schistosity, 
and  lenticular  in  structure,  varying  from  a few  inches  to  as  much 
as  Id  feet  in  thickness.  The  different  veins  cannot  be  brought 
into  one  alignment,  but  occupy  a belt  which  at  several  points  is 
about  one  mile  wide.  The  ore  is  quartz,  containing  chiefly  “gray 
copper”  (clialcocite)  and  bornite,  with  some  red  oxide,  carbon- 
ates, and  rarely  native  copper  ; chalcopyrite  and  pyrite  occur  in 
small  quantities. 

The  principal  mines  of  this  region  are  the  Royster  (or  Blue 
W ing),  Holloway,  Mastodon,  Buckeye,  Bool,  Gillis,  Copper 
World  and  Yancey;  only  the  Royster,  Gillis  and  Yancey  mines 
have  been  largely  worked  ; and  at  present  these  are  idle. 

ALAMANCE,  ORANGE  AND  CHATHAM  COUNTIES. 

Gold  has  been  found  in  these  counties  but  no  attempts  at  seri- 
ous mining  have  ever  been  made.  Some  of  the  copper  ores  of 
Chatham  county  are  auriferous,  and  may  be  mentioned  in  this 
connection. 

In  Orange  county  the  Robeson  mine  (near  the  old  Patterson 
mine),  12  miles  northwest  of  Chapel  Hill,  was  discovered  in  1890. 
The  ore  body  is  a quartz  vein,  striking  northeast  and  dipping  30° 
northwest.  The  outcrop  has  been  traced  for  a distance  of  4 
miles  northeast  and  several  hundred  yards  southwest.  During 
the  fall  of  1895,  a prospect  shaft  was  sunk  30  feet  on  the  under- 
lay, and  the  vein  widened  from  6 inches  on  the  surface  to  22 
inches  at  the  bottom  of  the  shaft.  The  quartz  is  cellular,  vitre- 
ous to  saccharoidal,  and  has  a good  appearance.  Various  assays 
have  shown  from  $6  to  $52  per  ton.  Development  work  is  now 
in  progress  here,  under  the  direction  of  Mr.  R.  E.  Lyon,  of  Dur- 
ham, N.  C. 


54 


GOLD  DEPOSITS  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


MOORE  COUNTY. 

The  mines  are  situated  in  the  northern  and  western  part  of  the 
county,  not  far  from  the  northwest  boundary  of  the  -Jura-Trias 
basin. 

The  Belle  Mine  is  in  the  northern  part  of  the  county,  8 miles 
1ST.  N.  W.  of  Carthage. 

The  country  rock  is  chloritic  schist,  sometimes  garnetifer- 
ous.  Small  caleite  seams  also  occur.  The  rock  has  much  the 
appearance  of  being  a schistose,  metamor- 
phosed eruptive  ; propyllitic  alterations  were 
observed.  The  strike  is  1ST.  55°  E.,  and  the 
dip  75°  1ST.  W.  In  the  upper  part  of  one  of 
the  old  shafts  the  schists  were  observed  to 
bend  over  with  the  slope  of  the  hill,  from  the 
normal  dip  to  an  anomalous  S.  E.  dip,  which 
was  as  great  as  i5°  near  the  surface. 

The  mine  is  abandoned  and  no  ore  was  visible  when  the 
property  was  visited  in  1894.  It  is  stated  that  the  mineralized 
schists  themselves  constitute  the  ore,  which  exists  in  several 
narrow  belts  containing  siliceous  seams  from  i to  4 inches  in 
thickness.  Mr.  Richard  Williams,  the  former  superintendent, 
reports  that  the  pay  streak  was  from  4 to  8 inches  wide,  lying 
against  the  foot  wTall,  and  that  li  to  2 feet  of  the  material  in  the 
foot  wall  side  was  mined  and  milled,  yielding  as  much  as  830  per 
ton.  The  entire  vein  matter,  averaging  fully  4 feet  in  width 
will  run  $12  per  ton.  In  the  course  of  a professional  examina- 
tion 1 a rigid  sampling  of  the  entire  ore  body  explored  in  the  75 
foot  level  was  made.  The  assays  for  the  two  drifts  gave  the  fol- 
lowing results  : 

Assay , Gold  Ores , Belle  Mine , Moore  County. 

(9)  (10) 

Gold,  per  ton $13.95 $H.37 

Silver,  " -02 .35 

$14.57  $11.72 

There  is  very  little  sulpliuret  present,  and  the  free  gold  is  very 
“ leafy  ”,  which  has  caused  great  difficulty  in  working  the  ores 


1 By  Mi-.  G.  B.  Hanna. 


MOORE  COUNTY. 


55 


by  the  ordinary  modes  of  amalgamation.  In  the  northwestern 
part  of  the  county  is  a group  of  9 or  10  mines,  comprised  in  an 
area  2 miles  wide  from  northwest  to  southeast,  and  6 miles  long 
from  northeast  to  southwest.  These  limits  indicate  the  produc- 
tive part,  but  the  actual  auriferous  area  is  considerably  more 
extended. 

The  Burns  (or  Burns  and  Alred  ) Mine  is  situated  11  miles 
W.  N.  W.  from  Carthage  on  Cabin  creek.  The  freehold  and 
land  tracts  comprise  more  than  300  acres. 

The  country  rock  is  a sericitic,  chloritic  schist,  in  part  silici- 
fied.  The  strike  is  H.  20°  E.,  and  the  dip  55°  aST.  W.  ; the  joint 
planes  dip  35°  S.  E. 

These  schists  are  filled  with  quartz  stringers  and  lenticles.  It 
is  difficult  to  say  what  is  ore  and  what  is  not,  for  the  rock  is 
everywhere  auriferous,  though  not  everywhere  capable  of  being 
profitably  worked. 

It  is  mined  in  large  opencuts,  20  to  100  feet  wide,  to  a depth 
of  about  50  feet.  The  cuts  extend  along  the  strike  for  a dis- 
tance of  about.  1 mile.  This  is  on  Moody  Hill ; some  work  has 
also  been  done  on  Brown  Hill. 

The  selection  of  places  for  exploitation  has  been  almost  exclu- 
sively determined  by  the  results  of  mill  runs  of  the  ore,  or  by 
panning  ; and  while  this  method  of  work  has  been  wasteful  in 
some  respects,  it  was  probably  the  best  method  available.  The 
cuts  are  scattered  about  promiscuously,  without  much  evident 
connection  or  relation,  and  are  usually  very  irregular  in  outline. 

It  is  stated  that  the  average  ore  yields  $2.50  to  $3  per  ton,  free 
gold  ; and  at  intervals  schists  of  high  grade  have  been  found,  and 
may  be  encountered  at  any  time. 

Iron  sulphurets  also  occur  in  the  schists,  but  they  have  not 
yet  been  treated,  as  little,  if  any,  of  the  work  extends  below  the 
water  level.  The  rock  is  also  intersected  by  quartz  veins  in  all 
directions,  but  they  are  presumably  barren.  Some  of  the  quartz 
contains  included  fragments  of  the  country  schist.  Several 
interesting  specimens  were  exhibited  by  the  superintendent  at  the 
time  of  our  visit.  These  were  small  pieces  of  the  soft,  unsilici- 
fied  schist,  also  free  from  quartz  stringers,  containing  free  gold. 


56 


GOLD  DEPOSITS  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


The  mill  house  is  equipped  with  5 Crawford  mills,  which  treat 
8 tons  of  ore  per  2d  hours.  Three  of  these  were  in  operation 
(Nov.,  1894).1  This  mine  has  been  operated  for  more  than  40 
years.  Under  the  old,  and  for  the  most  part  successful,  methods 
the  work  wras  on  a small  scale,  the  machinery  inexpensive,  the 
^capital  small,  the  management  economical,  and  the  attention  to 
business  was  unremitting.  And  these  circumstances  will  not 
unfairly  indicate  the  conditions  of  successful  work  for  all  the 
mines  of  this  group  in  the  future. 

The  Cagle  Mine  is  situated  about  f-mile  north  of  the  Burns, 
and  the  country  rock  and  ore  are  similar.  The  strike  is  N.  27° 
E.,  and  the  dip  55°  1ST  W.  The  mine  was  formerly  operated  by 
a series  of  inclined  shafts,  on  the  dip,  to  a depth  of  160  feet. 

The  results  of  a series  of  assays  of  the  ore  from  this  mine  show  : 

Assays , Gold  Ores , Cagle  Mine , Moore  County. 


(11)  (12)  (13)  (11)  (15)  (161  (17)  (18) 

Gold $5.17  $39.27  $26.62  $7.75  $6  20  $7.23  $47.51  $4.11 

Silver 18  .70  .66  trace,  trace.  .06  1.10  .13 


$5.35  $ 59.97  $27.28  $7.75  $6.20  $7.2:)  $48.64  $1.27 

The  Clegg  Mine  is  i mile  west  of  the  Cagle,  on  the  west  side 
of  Cabin  creek.  It  has  the  same  character  of  ore,  though  the 
body  is  larger,  and  of  relatively  lower  grade.  It  has  been 
worked  by  open  cuts. 

The  Brown  Mine  is  on  the  northeast  edge  of  the  district,  on 
the  road  from  Moffitt’s  to  Richardson’s  mill.  It  has  been  worked 
for  a distance  of  300  yards,  and  to  a depth  of  40  or  50  feet.  The 
dip  is  very  flat, ; the  ore  body  is  three  feet  thick,  but  the  “ pay 
streak”  was  a comparatively  narrow  seam  of  rich  quartz,  which, 
it  is  stated,  finally  narrowed  down  to  such  limits  that  it  could 
not  be  profitably  worked. 

RANDOLPH  COUNTY. 

The  Hoover  Hill  Mine2  is  situated  about  17  miles  a little 
east  of  south  from  High  Point,  on  the  waters  of  the  Uharie  river, 
and  on  the  western  flank  of  the  northern  extension  of  the  Uharie 

1 In  1895  this  plant  was  abolished  t>y  tlie  Cabin  Creek  Minina:  Co.,  and  a ten  stamp  mill 
with  concentrating  machinery  erected,  which  it  is  proposed  to  use  in  connection  with  a 
cyanide  treatment. 

Geological  Report  of  the  Midland  Counties  of  North  Carolina.  E.  Emmons,  1866,  p.  139. 


RANDOLPH  COUNTY. 


57 


mountains.  The  mine  has  only  been  worked  spasmodically  dur- 
ing late  years.  Unfortunately  the  water  was  up  on  the  day 
when  recently  visited,  and  the  underground  workings  were  not 
open  to  examination. 

The  country  rock  is  a decomposed  basic  eruptive,  which  is 
partially  brecciated,  the  included  fragments  being  hornstone. 
Masses  of  hornstone,  containing  sulphurets,  were  also  found,  re- 
sembling that  of  the  Silver  Valley  mine  (p.  66).  As  at  the 
Silver  Valley  and  Silver  Hill  mines  the  basic  rock  is  somewhat 
schistose  in  structure.  It  is  probably  a quartz  porpliyrite.  Cer- 
tain more  or  less  definite  belts  of  this  rock  are  intersected  by 
innumerable  small  reticulated  quartz  veins,  from  less  than  one 
inch  to  one  foot  in  thickness,  and  this  is  the  material  that  con- 
stitutes the  ore.  The  weathered  outcrops  were  extraordinarily 
rich  and  gave  the  mine  its  early  fame.  At  greater  depths  the 
gold  is  invariably  associated  with  the  quartz  seams,  though  quartz 
sometimes  occurs  without  enriching  the  ore  body.  Sulphurets 
(iron  pyrites)  are  present  to  the  extent  of  about  3 per  cent. 

The  principal  ore  body  is  known  as  the  “ Briols  shoot,” 
entered  by  the  Briols  and  Gallimore  shafts,  the  former  being  350 
feet  deep.  The  ore  body  at  this  depth  was  large  : its  width  was 
12  feet,  and  its  length  70  feet  or  more  ; it  was  worth  $8  to  $10 
per  ton.  At  no  great  distance  from  the  Briols,  six  other  bodies 
lying  quite  closely  together  have  been  worked  by  the  Hawkins 
shaft. 

The  Wilson  Kindley  Mine  is  situated  \ mile  southwest  from 
the  Hoover  Hill,  and  the  formation  is  like  that  of  the  latter 
mine. 

The  Jones  (or  Keystone)  Mine1  is  situated  18  miles  E.  S.  E. 
from  Lexington  and  12  miles  S.  S.  E.  from  Thomasville.  The 
country  rock  represents  a very  schistose  phase  of  the  brecciated 
porphyrite  found  at  the  Hoover  Hill  mines.  It  is  very  soft  and 
decomposed,  so  that  the  iron  sulphuret,  with  which  the  rock  is 
charged,  has  given  rise  to  pure  limonite  which  has  filled  the 
joints  and  cross  seams,  and  in  fact  stained  the  whole  mass  a red- 
dish brown  color.  The  strike  of  the  schistosity  is  1ST.  45°  E., 

1 Geological  Report  ol  the  Midland  Counties  of  North  Carolina.  E.  Emmons,  1856;  pp. 
131,  132. 


58 


GOLD  DEPOSITS  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


dipping  80°  N.  T\r.  Besides  the  suiphurets,  this  schistose  rock 
is  filled  with  fine  stringers  of  quartz.  The  ore  bodies  consist  of 
this  quartzose,  pyritic  mass. 

Gold  is  universally  present  in  the  soil  of  the  region,  but  min- 
ing is  confined  to  certain  well  known  belts,  which  are  more  richly 
charged  with  it.  Occasional  horses  (or  “bars”)  are  found 
charged  with  finely  disseminated  iron  pyrite,  and  being  as 
yet  slightly  altered,  are  still  solid  and  firm;  these  (unless  very 
rich)  are  usually  avoided  from  the  comparative  difficulty  both  of 
mining  and  milling.  Two  of  these  belts  have  gained  especial 
prominence,  one  being  50,  feet  and  the  other  110  feet  wide.  But 
there  are  numerous  openings  on  every  part  of  the  tract,  from 
every  one  of  which  auriferous  material  may  be  obtained.  The 
portions  which  are  comparatively  barren  are  easily  recognized  and 
readily  avoided.  The  mine  is  a series  of  open  quarries.  The 
tract  is  everywhere  cut  by  gulches,  which  allow  easy  access  and 
cheap  entry  into  the  ore  bodies,  and  at  the  same  time  facilitate 
transportation  by  gravity  tramways,  to  the  mill. 

The  character,  the  occurrence,  and  the  distribution  of  the  ore, 
are  such,  that  new  bodies,  equal  in  value  to  any  that  have  been 
hitherto  worked,  may  at  any  time  be  exposed. 

The  disintegrated  condition  of  the  rock  allows  of  mining  at  a 
marvelously  cheap  rate,  frequently  not  exceeding  15  cents  per  ton 
of  ore  delivered  in  the  mill-house. 

The  material  is  low  grade,  but  it  changes  perpetually  in  its 
contents,  and  bodies  of  relatively  high  grade  material  may  be 
met  with  at  any  time,  but  the  extent  of  these  rich  seams  is  lim- 
ited. The  assays  1 give  : 

Assays  of  Gold  Ores , Jones  Mine , Randolph  County. 


(19) 

(20) 

(21) 

(22) 

(23) 

.$  3.10 

$ 0.20 

$ 2.58 

8 3.10 

....  $ 2.07 

10 

trace 

03 

$ 3.20 

.$  6.20 

$ 2.58 

$ 3.10 

S 2.07 

(24) 

(25) 

(26) 

(27) 

(28) 

Gold  per  ton $ 28.91 8 1.15 $ 2.07 $ 4 15 $ 4.S2 


Silver  “ “ trace... trace.. trace .11 13 


$ 28.94 

$ 4.15 

o 
| oi 

V* 

$ 4.28 

3 4.95 

(29) 

(30) 

(31) 

(32) 

(33) 

Gold  per  ton $ 4 14 

Silver  “ “ trace 

$ 3.10 

3 2.89 

....  S 3.61 

trace 

trace 

trace 

....  trace 

$ 4.14 

$ 3.10 

$ 2.89 

$ 4.14 

$ 3.61 

1 Hy  G.  B.  Hanna. 


RANDOLPH  COUNTY. 


59 


Strict  averages  of  large  bodies  of  accumulated  material,  or 
reserves  easily  accessible,  gave  fairly  uniform  results,  so  that  it 
may  be  said  with  fairness  that  the  average  value  of  working 
bodies  will  not  fall  under  $3.00  per  ton. 

Sample  No.  2d  above  was  taken  by  accident  from  a place  which 
did  not  in  the  slightest  degree  indicate  any  superior  value. 

M ining  has  been  carried  on  here  for  two  generations,  and  as 
long  as  the  rich  shoots  and  the  concentrated  material  lasted,  it 
was  profitable,  but  when  the  resources  worked  down  to  the  low 
grade  ore,  the  old  methods  were  no  longer  applicable,  and  the 
work  became  fitful. 

In  the  open  cut  where  the  present  (Nov.  1,  1891)  operations  are 
being  carried  on,  the  width  of  the  ore  bearing  schists  is  12  to  15 
feet.  A ten  stamp  mill  stands  on  the  property  and  the  ore  is 
stated  to  mill  $2.00  per  ton. 

One  of  the  prime  conditioner— of  success  with  low  grade  mine 
stuff  of  this  character  is  the  handling  of  large  quantities.  A 
combination  hydraulickingA  and  milling  process  (Dahlonega 
method)  might  be  applicable  here.  The  nearest  supply  of  water 
is  the  IJharie  river,  a bold  stream,  some  2 miles  away,  but  at  a 
lower  level. 

The  Parish  Mine,  now  abandoned  and  inaccessible,  is  situated 
about  I mile  southwest  from  the  Jones.  The  country  rock  is 
similar  to  that  at  Hoover  Hill,  though  more  decomposed.  It  is 
schistose  in  structure  and  shows  brecciation.  The  ore  body  is 
mainly  actinolite  which  is  auriferous. 

The  Lafflin  (or  Herring),  and  Delft  Mines  are  situated  in 
the  vicinity  of  the  Jones,  and  are  similar  to  that  in  the  character 
of  their  ore  bodies. 

The,  Winningham  and  Slack  mines  are  in  Randolph  county, 
two  and  a half  miles  south  of  Ashboro. 

The  Davis  Mountain  Mine  is  four  miles  southwest  of  Ashboro. 

The  Sawyer  Mine  is  five  miles  northwest  of  Ashboro.  At  this 
locality  the  ore  body  is  massive  and  consists  of  parallel  belts  of 
silicified  schists  in  an  advanced  stage  of  disintegration,  and 
sometimes  forming  a body  of  fine,  loosely  coherent  sand.  These 


60 


GOLD  DEPOSITS  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


schists  are  auriferous,  and  the  workable  bodies  are  sufficiently 
near  each  other  to  be  worked  at  the  same  time. 

The  Winslow  is  live  miles  southwest  of  Ashboro. 

The  Uharie- Mine  is  a short  distance  to  the  northeast  of  the  Rusr 
sell  mine,  (see  p.  74),  just  over  the  line  in  Randolph  county.  The 
formation  is  for  the  most  part  the  same  as  at  the  Russel],  and 
calls  for  no  detailed  description.  The  entire  mass  of  gold  bear- 
ing schists  is  believed  to  carry  1?  per  cent,  of  pyrites.  Unlike 
the  Russell  mine,  the  former  work  here  was  underground.  The 
shaft  was  sunk  to  a depth  of  170  feet. 

DAVIDSON  COUNTY. 

The  Emmons  (or  Davidson)  Mine  is  situated  15  miles  southeast 
of  Lexington.  The  country  rock  is  a soft  chloritic  schist,  strik- 
ing EL  22°  to  31°  E.,  and  dipping  40°  N.  W.  These  schists  con- 
tain small  quartz  veins,  approximately  conformable  with  the 
lamination,  from  a few  inches  up  to  one  foot  in  thickness,  and 
the  whole  material  is  mineralized  with  sulphurets  (mainly  chalco- 
pyrite,  with  some  galena,  sphalerite,  and  pyrite).  Siderite  and 
chlorite  occur  as  gangue  minerals.  The  total  thickness  of  the 
ore  body  is  stated  to  be  from  3 to  8 feet.  The  ore  shoots  pitch 
to  the  southwest.  The  ore  is  only  slightly  auriferous  and  has 
been  worked  entirely  for  its  copper  contents.  The  mine  is  entered 
by  two  shafts  680  feet  apart,  and  both  in  the  lode.  The  deepest 
shaft  is  416  feet  deep  on  the  incline.  Levels  occur  at  200,  280, 
350  and  410  feet.  It  was  reopened  and  worked  several  years 
after  the  war  by  a Baltimore  company.  The  Hunt  and  Douglas 
(old)  process  was  used  here  successfully  for  a long  period.  The 
available  supply  of  ore  was  exhausted,  according  to  a statement 
of  James  E.  Clayton,  then  superintendent,  and  the  mine  closed 
down.  In  1885  and  1886  it  was  again  operated  for  a short  time. 

The  Cid  Mine  is  II  miles  northeast  of  the  Emmons.  The 
appearance  of  she  schists  and  the  general  character  of  the  ore 
resemble  the  conditions  at  the  Emmons.  It  carried  from  the 
start  rich  copper  ores ; chalcopyrite,  with  black  oxide  and  other 
surface  alterations.  The  surface  ore  carried  from  5 to  15  ounces 


DAVIDSON  COUNTY. 


61 


of  silver,  with  a little  gold  (for  which  it  was  first  worked,  but 
without  much  success). 

An  underlay  shaft  was  sunk  100  feet,  when,  from  some  unascer- 
tained cause,  work  was  stopped. 

The  Silver  Hill  Mine1  is  situated  about  10  miles  southeast 
from  Lexington.  The  country  rock  is  chloritic  schist,  striking 
about  X.  35°  E.,  and  dipping  57°' X.  W.  Specimens  of  an  erup- 
tive dike  rock  were  found,  apparently  pyroxenic  in  composition ; 
and  other  specimens  of  the  same  rock  show  a fibrous,  asbestos- 
like mineral  ; still  other  specimens  exhibit  a fine  grained,  siliei- 
fied  phase.  One  large  piece  showed  a contact  between  the  coarse 
eruptive  and  the  country  schists,  along  which  occurred  a coating 
of  zinc  blende.  The  dike  rock  also  contains  fragments  of  schist. 
The  schists  are  impregnated  with  sulphurets  (pyrite  up  to  l" 
cube,  and  also  galenite  and  sphalerite). 

The  two  principal  veins  or  lodes  are  know  as  the  “ East  ” and 
the  “ West they  are  parallel  and  about  28  feet  apart  on  the 
outcrop.  The  strike  is  X.  E.  and  S.  W.,  and  the  dip  is  X.  W., 
in  tl^e  vicinity  of  15°. 

The  prevailing  appearance  of  the  upper  part  of  these  lodes, 
and  their  accompaniments,  is  a yellowish  white,  decomposed, 
material,  varying  from  hard  rock  to  rotten  schist  and  soft  clay,  and 
with  the  mineral  matter  dispersed  through  it,  and  not  readily 
distinguishable. 

The  gossan  is  composed  of  the  usual  decomposed  sulphurets 
and  was  at  first  worked  for  gold.  The  treatment  of  the  ores  for 
gold,  however,  did  not  continue  long,  for  the  real  character  of 
the  mine  speedily  disclosed  itself.  Below  the  water  level  the 
ores  become  a complex  mixture  of  sulphurets,  chiefly  galena  and 
zinc  blende,  with  some  chalcopyrite  and  pyrite,  and  the  princi- 
pal precious  metal  content  is  silver. 

From  the  imperfect  records  of  the  mine  now  accessible  it  is 
believed  to  have  been  discovered  in  1838.  It  has  been  more 
extensively  worked  ( the  Gold  Hill  excepted ) than  any  other 

1 Geological  Report  of  the  Midland  Counties  of  North  Carolina.  E.  Emmons,  1856, 
pp.  183-198. 


62 


GOLD  DEDOSITS  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


mine  in  Rorth  Carolina.  The  last  work  was  done  about  12 
years  ago,  since  when  the  mine  has  been  closed  and  inaccessible. 

The  mine,  during  the  thirty  years  of  its  active  work,  was  prac- 
ticed on  by  all  kinds  of  “ process  ” mongers,  and  the  grounds  and 
buildings  are  a museum  of  old  and  nondescript  machinery  and 
metallurgical  appliances.  A mechanical  separation  of  the  galena 
and  blende  by  buddies  and  similar  concentrating  machinery  was 
probably  the  nearest  to  success  of  any  of  the  methods  adopted 
here  ; but  assays  of  the  tailings  and  slimes  show  a great  waste  of 
valuable  constituents.  The  ore  was  for  a time  used  without  sep- 
aration of  the  galena  and  blende  in  making  white  paint,  and 
served,  it  is  believed,  an  admirable  purpose.  The  ore  is  essen- 
tially adapted  to  a smelting  process  in  combination  with  copper 
ores,  such  as  was  successfully  tried  some  3 years  ago  on  similar 
ores  from  the  Silver  Valley  mine.  ( See  p.  66). 

Plates  bios.  II  and  III  show  all  the  important  underground 
features.  Down  to  the  200  foot  level  the  drawings  are  from 
actual  surveys  by  R.  C.  Taylor  and  Jas.  V.  Symonds  ; below  that 
point  they  are  made  from  notes  and  statements  by  the  old  super- 
intendents and  underground  bosses,  especially  Mr.  James  Prim, 
and  are  to  be  regarded  as  only  approximately  correct.  Vo 
records  of  a survey  of  this  lower  part  of  the  mine  exists. 

Much  the  greater  part  of  the  ore  has  been  taken  out  by  the 
Engine  shaft  (at  first  known  as  the  Whim  shaft).  Down  to  200 
feet  this  shaft  was  vertical  ; from  the  190  foot  level  of  this  verti- 
cal shaft  an  inclined  shaft  was  sunk  to  a nominal  depth  of  660 
feet ; this  incline  was  in  the  back  or  east  vein,  and  in  the  main  fol- 
lowed the  dip.  Both  veins  were  worked  from  these  shafts,  as 
shown  in  plate  VTo.  II,  in  the  vertical  section  through  the  engine 
shaft. 

The  mine  has  been  more  or  less  prospected  for  about  700  feet 
of  its  entire  length,  but  the  vein  formation  extends  a much 
greater  distance,  as  is  shown  bv  the  following  assav  of  ore  from 
the  north  extension  : 

Assay , gold  ore , north  extension , Silver  Hill,  Davidson  county. 


(34) 

Gold,  per  ton $10.33 

SUver,  per  ton 12.38 


$32.61 


2 

p 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY.  BULLETIN  3,  PLATE  II. 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY. 


DAVIDSON  COUNTY SILVER  HILL  MINE. 


63 


The  East  vein  above  the  60  foot  level  was  the  richer  in  silver, 
and  the  West  vein  in  lead,  hence  the  former  was  called  the 
u Silver  vein,”  and  the  latter  the  “ Lead  vein.”  The  space  between 
was  soft  ground  with  disseminated  mineral  matter. 

Two  small  veins  are  found  from  100  to  175  feet  in  depth  ; the 
Little  East  vein,  a few  feet  east  of  the  main  East  vein,  and  nearly 
parallel  to  it ; and  the  Little  West  vein,  some  50  feet  west  of  the 
main  vein,  and  inclining  toward  it.  Small  outlying  lenticles 
were  encountered  occasionally  in  driving  into  the  “ country,” 
and  the  main  vein  was  occasionally  divided  by  “ horses”  of  slate. 

The  veins  come  together  at  the  60-foot  level  just  to  the  south- 
west of  the  engine  shaft  (plate  II,  fig.  3),  where  the  West  vein 
was  the  richer  in  silver.  At  the  60-foot  level,  and  down  to 
the  100-foot  level  of  the  West  vein,  there  also  occurred  a good 
body  of  manganese  ore,  and  associated  with  it  most  of  the  cabi- 
net specimens  for  which  this  mine  was  noted  ; e.  g.,  carbonates, 
sulphates,  and  phosphates  of  lead,  and  carbonates  and  silicates 
of  copper,  together  with  foliated  and  other  kinds  of  native  silver  ; 
the  East  vein  was  less  rich  in  cabinet  specimens. 

The  West  vein  also  expands  considerably  between  60  and  100 
feet  ; but  in  the  expanded  parts  it  was  regularly  defined,  and 
often  had  “ vugs  ” with  rich  mine  matter.  In  this  zone  the.  ore 
was  changed  from  oxides  to  sulphides,  with  blende  predominat- 
ing over  the-  galenite.  Below  the  160-foot  level  the  East  vein 
again  becomes  richer  in  silver. 

At  this  depth  the  space  from  wall  to  wall  of  the  two  veins  (i. 
e.,  foot  wall  of  East  vein  to  hanging  wall  of  West  vein)  is  32 
feet,  and  the  vein  becomes  more  vertical,  i.  e.,  6d°  from  the  horizon- 
tal, and  sometimes  expands  into  nests,  and  is  frequently  filled 
with  black,  cellular,  steel-grained,  zinciferous  ore,  with  occasional 
masses  of  rich  argentiferous  galenite,  and  native  silver.  Assaj’s 
of  this  ore  show  : 

Assays,  Stiver  Ore , Silver  Hill  Mine , Hast  Vein , Davidson  County. 

(25)  ' (26) 

Silver,  per  ton $ 25.88 ,$103.41 

Lead,  percent 49 52 


5 


64 


GOLD  DEPOSITS  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


Galenite,  associated  with  minerals  of  secondary  formation,  is 
sometimes  found  ranging  extraordinarily  high  in  silver. 

For  160  to  200  feet  the  vein  becomes  still  more  steep,  but  at 
the  latter  depth  rapidly  changes  to  approximately  45°.  Fear 
the  200  foot  level  the  West  vein  is  ten  to  sixteen  feet  thick,  and 
is  filled  with  argentiferous  galenite — the  last  ten  feet  having 
produced  more  silver  than  any  similar  distance  from  the  160  to 
the  200-foot  level. 

The  east  vein  is  divided  by  a “ horse  ”,  at  the  160-foot  level, 
as  shown  on  plate  II.  Both  the  Little  East  and  the  Little  West 
veins  carry  ores  quite  like  those  of  the  main  vein  at  the  same 
depth. 

Below  the  200  foot  level  the  blende  gradually  increases,  and 
finally  predominates  over  the  galenite. 

The  composition  of  a large  pile  of  ore,  which  had  accumulated 
with  reference  to  smelting,  was  as  follows ; 


Assay , Ore  From  Silver  Hill,  Davidson  County.  (27) 

Lead 17.5  per  cent. 

Zinc 15.  “ 

Sulphur 35.  “ 

Iron  oxide,  alumina  and  silica 10.  “ 


All  eflorts  to  smelt  this  class  of  ore  were  disastrous  and  waste- 
ful. 

At  170  feet  the  richest  ore  was  found  in  a lenticle  in  the  general 
mass,  two  feet  thick.  At  the  depth  of  about  200  feet  a huge 
shoulder  or  swell  was  encountered,  making  the  floor  nearly  flat 
for  awhile.  Below  200  feet  the  vein  and  its  walls  assumed  their 
permanent  and  normal  characteristics. 

The  inclined  shaft  was  sunk  in  the  East  vein,  and  cross-cuts 
driven  from  it  to  the  West  vein,  and  through  them  the  West 
vein  was  worked,  levels  being  driven  each  50  feet  on  the  incline. 
Down  to  310  feet  the  levels  extended  both  northeast  and  south- 
west ; below  310  feet,  50  to  75  feet  to  the  north  only,  since  the 
shoot  of  ore  appeared  to  be  pitching  to  the  northeast.  The 
stopes  extended  25  to  50  feet  from  the  shaft  along  the  levels, 
both  veins  being  worked  alike.  At  the  depth  of  about  400  feet, 
the  exact  point  not  being  now  ascertainable,  the  two  veins  uni- 


DAVIDSON  COUNTY SILVER  HILL  MINE. 


65 


ted  again,  and  continued  together  for  a distance  of  50  feet  down- 
ward. 

The  ore  shoots  appear  to  be  diminishing  in  length  at  the 
deepest  point  thus  far  attained,  and  are  about  25  feet  long  in  the 
course  of  the  vein,  but  the  thickness  is  not  materially  changed, 
and  they  have  a width  of  twelve  feet.  Those  who  have  been  long 
familiar  with  the  mine,  say  that  it  is  a repetition  of  what  has 
often  occurred,  and  are  sanguine  that  it  will  enlarge  again. 

It  is  believed  that  a large  body  of  carbonates  still  exists  near 
the  surface,  and  down  to  100  or  200  feet.  This  body  was  pene- 
trated by  the  late  J.  Howard  Jones  in  1878,  and  a large  amount 
of  ore  brought  to  the  surface.  Its  character  is  indicated  by 
assays  Nos.  28  and  29  below.  The  general  position  of  Mr.  Jones’ 
inclined  shaft  is  shown  on  plate  II  by  dotted  lines  ; an  extensive 
cave  subsequently  occurred,  and  its  exact  position  cannot  now  be 
determined. 

It  may  be  mentioned  that  bodies  of  iron  pyrite,  with  a very 
little  chalcopyrite,  are  sometimes  encountered,  and  it  is  believed 
that  a considerable  quantity  exists.  Assays  Nos.  30  and  31  show 
its  composition.  Nos.  32,  33  and  34  are  assays  of  compact 
galenite. 

No.  35,  by  Prof.  F.  A.  Genth,  is  the  average  contents  during 
his  connection  with  the  mine,  being  an  average  of  some  200 
assays. 

Assay,  Ores  from  Silver  Hill  Mine,  Davidson  County. 

Carbonates.  Pyrite. 

(28)  (29)  (30)  (31) 

Gold,  per  ton $ 8.27 $ 2.07 $ 3.10 $10.34 

Silver,  “ “ 20.30 4.05 4.01 2.97 

$28.63  $ 6.72  $ 7.11  $13.31 

Lead,  per  cent 3.8  per  cent 31.94  per  cent 0.67  per  cent 

Zinc,  “ “ 27.28  per  cent 2.08  per  cent 

Assays,  Compact  Galena,  Silver  Hill  Mine. 

(32)  (33)  (34) 

Gold,  per  ton $ 4.13 $ 6.20 $ 4.13 

Silver,  “ 11  . 3.23 10.73 11.25 

$ 7.36  $16.93  $15.38 

Lead,  per  cent 22.94  per  cent 56.72  per  cent 12.57  per  cent. 

Zinc,  “ “ 7.14  per  cent — — ....34.29  per  cent. 


66 


GOLD  DEPOSITS  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


General  Average  of  200  Assays , Silver  Hill  Ores. 

(35) 

Galenite 21.9  per  cent. 

Bisulphide  of  iron 17.1  “ 

Sulphide  of  zinc 59.2  “ 

Silver  and  gold 025  “ 

Copper  pyrite 1.8  “ 

100.025 

Passing  to  the  north  along  the  East  vein  are  the  Symonds’ 
shafts,  (plate  II).  ‘ Sulphide  ores  were  encountered  here  near  the 
surface,  and  were  of  the  same  general  character.  Symonds’  east 
shaft  was  sunk  110  feet,  and  the  west  shaft  210  feet.  Very  little 
stoping  was  done  in  these  two  veins.  A level  was  driven  from 
near  the  bottom  of  Symonds’  west  shaft,  running  angling  back  to 
the  engine  shaft  in  the  East  vein. 

The  Silver  Valley  Mine  is  situated  5 inilest  northeast  of 
Silver  Hill,  and  12  miles  E.  S.  E.  from  Lexington.  The  charac- 
ter of  the  ore  is  very  much  like  that  of  the  Silver  Hill  mine. 
The  mine  was  discovered  and  opened  in  1S80,  and  it  was  last 
operated  in  the  latter  part  of  1S96,  the  ore  being  hauled  to 
Thomasville  where  it  was  successfully  treated  by  a smelting 
process,  using  copper  ores  as  a flux.  A 20  stamp  mill  stands  on 
the  property.  The  old  miue  dumps  show  specimens  of  argillace- 
ous schist,  which  it  is  stated  form  the  hanging  wall  of  the  vein, 
while  the  foot  wall  is  a hard  fine  grained  hornstone  (locally  called 
“gun  flint”),  which  also  occurs  in  abundance  on  the  dump  pile. 
The  color  of  this  hornstone  varies  from  a light  drab  to  dark  gray, 
and  some  specimens  show  a sharp  contact  between  the  two, 
resembling  flow-structure.  It  has  all  appearances  of  being  a 
devitrified  volcanic  rhyolite,  and  this  is  substantiated  by  micro- 
scopic examination.  An  eruptive  basic  rock,  resembling  that  at 
Silver  Hill,  is  also  found  here,  and  from  the  various  statements 
it  appears  to  exist  in  the  form  of  a dike. 

The  presence  of  galenite  was  suspected  thirty  years  ago,  and 
much  prospecting  work  was  done  to  find  the  deposit  ; but  the 
work  was  done  mostly  in  the  schists  some  distance  off  to  the  west 
of  the  present  shaft,  where  the  galenite  disseminated  in  the 
schists  seemed  most  promising.  The  vein  now  under  discussion 
was  discovered  subsequently  by  a shrewd  guess.  Its  strike  is 


DAVIDSON  COUNTY SILVER  VALLEY  MINE. 


67 


approximately  north  and  south,  with  a dip  of  45°  to  the  north- 
west. 

The  cpiartz  outcrop  of  the  vein  is  nearly  twenty  feet  wide,  and 
is  not  the  least  promising  for  a mineral  formation.  The  vein  is 
five  to  twelve  feet  wide,  and  presents  a laminated  structure,  with 
alternate  bands  of  ore,  slate  and  quartz  ; these  ore  seams  are 
from  three  to  eighteen  inches  thick.  It  is  believed  that  the  ore 
is  less  scattered  and  more  solid  as  depth  is  gained. 

The  mine  is  entered  by  two  shafts,  one  vertical  and  one  under- 
lay in  the  vein  of  170  feet  (equivalent  to  about  120  feet  vertical), 
and  levels  have  been  run  100  feet  in  either  direction  from  the 
foot  of  the  inclined  shaft,  which  are  mostly  in  ore. 

The  contents  of  the  vein  is  a milk-white  and  barren  looking 
quartz,  which  disclosed  little  mineral  matter  until  a depth  of 
sixty  feet  was  reached,  though  the  upper  part  contained  some 
brown  ore. 

The  ore  is  very  like  that  of  Silver  Hill  in  its  lower  lev- 
els, and  blende  has  come  to  form  a large,  and  in  some  cases,  the 
predominant  constituent.  The  subjoined  assays  will  show  the 
composition  of  the  massive  galenites  and  blendes. 


Assays , Ore  from  Silver  Valley  Mine,  Davidson  County. 

Galenites  and  Blendes. 

(36)  (37)  (38) 

Gold  per  ton $ trace $ 4.13 8 trace. 

Silver  “ - 17.19 176.49 38.14 


Lead,  per  cent. 
Zinc  “ “ 


Gold  per  ton. 
Silver  “ “ . 


Lead,  per  cent 
Zinc  “ “ 


$ 17.19  $ 180.62  $ 38.14 

15.54* 55.25*. 38.S* 

31.43* 11.24* 31.0* 


Poor  Good  Second  Second 

Concentrates.  Concentrates.  Concentrates  Concentrates 

from  Poor  Ore.  from  Solid  Ore. 
(39)  (401  (411  (42) 

$ 4. 13 $ 4.13 ? 1.C3 $ 1.65 

23.01 44.74 13.08 14.34 


$ 27.14  $ 48.87  ? 14.11 8 15.99 

11.18* 47.62* 9.68* S.13 

27.70* 12.68* 27.84* 33  54 


Assay  Ho.  36  more  nearly  represents  the  common  run  of  the 
slightly  cobbed  ore,  and  Ho.  38  the  more  massive  ore  ; Ho.  37  is 
exceptional. 

The  possibility  of  concentrating  the  mine  stuff  into  a smelting 
product  fairly  free  from  zinc  is  shown  in  Ho.  40,  but  the  losses, 
as  concentration  has  hitherto  been  practiced,  are  enormous. 


68 


GOLD  DEPOSITS  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


The  gold  is  far  from  being  uniformly  diffused,  for  the  presence 
of  a little  iron  pyrite  makes  a considerable  difference  in  the  gold 
contents  of  the  concentrates. 

The  Welborn  ( Smith  ) Mine  is  situated  2 miles  west  of  the 
Silver  Hill,  and  carries  similar  complex  ores.  The  mine  was 
never  developed  sufficiently  to  indicate  its  true  resources. 

The  Smith  or  Mo.  1 Shaft  was  sunk  in  1882-3  to  the  depth,  as 
reported,  of  fifty  (50)  feet ; at  ten  (10)  feet  in  depth  the  vein  was 
twelve  (12)  inches  thick,  and  at  thirty-five  (35)  it  was  stated  to 
be  forty  (10)  inches  thick.  The  following  assays  give  some  idea 
of  the  general  run  of  the  ores  : 


Assays , Gold  Ores , Welborn  Mine , Davidson  County. 


Gold,  per  ton,  coining-  rate... 
Silver,  per  ton,  coining  rate. 

Total 


(43) 

(44) 

(45* 

$15.51 

$10-33 

$5.68 

14.37 

4.20 

2.26 

$29.88 

$14.53 

$7.94 

Sample  No.  43,  Schist,  with  iron  pyrite  and  a little  copper  pyrite  and  considerable 
galenite. 

Samples  44  and  45,  Schist,  with  disseminated  iron  pyrite. 


Several  hundred  tons  of  ore  had  been  accumulated  on  the  dump 
in  1883,  and  an  effort  was  made  to  smelt  it,  which,  as  a matter 
of  course,  ended  in  failure,  as  the  ore  contained  blende. 

At  the  Miller  Shaft,  three-fourths  of  a mile  north,  there  were 
also  several  hundred  tons  of  ore  on  the  dump  ; the  vein  carried 
compact  sulphurets  with  a trace  of  copper,  and  was  reported  to 
be  21  to  3 feet  wide. 

Other  localities  have  been  worked  in  this  vicinity,  e.  g.,  the 
Symonds  vein,  but  the  Survey  has  no  authentic  deta  respecting 
them. 

The  Conrad  Hill  Mine1  is  situated  6 miles  east  of  Lexington, 
the  county  seat,  on  the  northwest  margin  of  the  Carolina  Slate 
Belt,  and  near  its  contact  with  the  granitic  rocks.  The  elevation 
of  the  hill  is  less  than  100  feet  above  the  adjacent  valleys,  and 
with  very  gradual  slopes.  The  country  rocks  are  fine  grained 
argillaceous  schists,  often  silicified,  thinly  laminated  and  much 
jointed.  The  strike  is  M.  10°  to  20°  E.,  and  the  dip  towards  the 
northwest  at  high  angles,  approaching  the  vertical. 


1Tlie  description  here  given  of  this  mine  is  reprinted  with  slight  alteration  from  a spe- 
cial report  made  by  Prof.  Kerr  in  May,  1881,  which  report  was  published  in  the  Baltimore 
Sun  of  June  4, 1881.  The  mine  has  not  been  in  operation  for  a number  of  years  past. 


DAVIDSON  COUNTY CONRAD  HILL  MINE. 


69 


There  are  two  systems  of  veins  traversing  the  hill  ( see  fig.  3.); 
one  consists  of  veins  parallel  to  each  other  and  to  the  strike  of 
the  schists,  while  in  dip  they  frequently,  perhaps  it  may  be  said 
generally,  cut  the  schistosity,  at  a slightly  more  westerly  angle. 
The  second  system  differs  from  the  first  in  being  entirely  inde- 
pendent of  each  other  and  of  the  country  rock,  in  strike  and  dip. 

The  former,  Prof.  Emmons  has  designated1  as  right  running 
veins,  and  the  latter  as  cross  veins.  The  gangue  of  both  is  quartz 
and  carbonate  of  iron.  They  yield  both  copper  and  gold,  the. 
former  occurring  as  a sulphuret  (ehaldopyrite),  except  in  the 
upper  levels,  where  it  has  suffered  partial  oxidation  ; the  latter 
occurring  as  free  gold,  both  in  the  quartz  and  in  the  altered  car- 
bonate (brown  oxides)  of  iron  of  the  upper — and  in  the  sul- 
phurets  of  the  lower  levels. 

Emmons  describes  four  right  running  veins,  which  he  calls 
“ first ,”  “ second”  and  “ third,'"  or  “front,”  “ middle ” and 
“ bach  ” veins,  the  fourth  being  considered  a branch  of  the  third. 
The  first  of  these  crosses  near  the  top  of  the  hill,  striking  1ST. 
10°  E,,  and  dipping  wrnst  at  a high  angle.  The  outcrop  of  the 


1 Geological  Report  of  the  Midland  counties  of  N.  C.,  1856,  pp.  143  154. 


70 


GOLD  DEPOSITS  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


second  or  middle  vein  he  places  at  the  distance  of  fifty  feet  east 
of  the  first,  and  supposes  it  to  he  parallel  in  dip,  as  well  as  in 
strike,  to  the  first.  In  this,  however,  he  is  evidently  mistaken, 
since  the  two  veins  appear  to  meet  within  a hundred  feet  of  the 
surface. 

There  is  evidence  in  the  old  workings  that  still  another  vein, 
with  a very  steep  dip,  exists  between  the  second  and  third.  This 
back  vein  we  suppose  to  cross  the  line  of  the  South  shaft  at  a 
depth  of  less  than  130  feet.  In  its  thickness,  and  in  the 
amount  and  kind  of  matter  which  composes  it,  he  considers  this 
the  most  remarkable  of  all  the  veins  of  the  hill.  “ It  is  15 
inches  thick  at  its  outcrop,  and  at  the  depth  of  between  60  and 
70  feet  it  is  10  to  18  feet  wide.  It  is  quartz  above,  but  at  50 
feet  carbonate  of  iron,  carrying  sulphurets  of  copper  and  iron, 
this  part  of  the  vein  being  four  feet  thick  at  the  90-foot  level, 
and  rich  in  gold.” 

Emmons  mentions  also  3 cross  veins,  one  as  having  no  outcrop, 
and  only  revealed  in  the  engine  shaft,  and  two  others  which  he 
describes  as  among  the  richest  of  the  whole  hill.  The  first  of 
these  latter  was  worked  to  a depth  of  90  feet,  and  seems  to  be  the 
one  represented  as  crossing  the  South  shaft,  No.  1.  The  other, 
having  a strike  nearly  east  and  west,  and  a dip  south,  was  worked 
to  a depth  of  60  feet,  and  showed  a width  of  1 feet  of  very  rich 
ore,  on  which  a drift  of  some  60  feet  was  run.  It  must,  therefore, 
be  the  vein  which  appears  on  this  cross  course  in  South  shaft  No.  2. 

In  addition  to  these  there  appear  to  be  two  other  veins,  not 
discovered  when  Emmons  wrote  his  description — not  showing 
themselves,  apparently,  on  the  part  of  the  hill  to  which  his  atten- 
tion was  confined.  One  of  these  is  a very  large  vein — larger 
than  any  of  those  above  described. 

The  veinstone  is  quartz  and  iron  carbonate,  carrying  copper 
pyrite  and  gold.  This  vein  is  exposed  in  all  three  of  the  shafts, 
below  the  point  where  the  other  veins  are  cut — below  100  feet. 
It  is  not  clear  where  this  vein  comes  to  the  surface,  or  whether  it 
is  put  down  on  the  sketch  as  the  main  cross  vein.  The  other  new 
vein  is  indicated  on  the  diagram  to  the  west  of,  and  parallel  to 


DAVIDSON  COUNTY CONKAD  HILL  MINE. 


71 


the  first  or  front  vein.  It  has  been  opened  by  several  shallow 
pits,  and  shows  a four-foot  quartz  vein,  with  visible  gold.  An 
unsorted  sample  of  the  excavated  mass  yielded,  in  an  assay  by 
the  company’s  chemist,  $31  per  ton  for  gold. 

There  are  three  shafts  sunk  on  the  property,  as  shown  in  the 
diagram,  and  as  they  are  all  in  front  of  the  right  running  veins, 
these  will  all  be  penetrated  by  each  of  them  at  the  same  depth. 
In  No.  1 South  shaft,  Emmons  estimated  that  the  last  of  them, 
the  back  vein,  would  be  cut  at  130  feet.  A large  body  of  ore 
was  entered  at  the  depth  of  08  feet,  where,  according  to  Captain 
Edward  B.  Wilder,  the  front  and  middle  veins  have  united  and 
form  one  mass.  From  this  shaft,  at  the  depth  of  105  feet,  a drift 
was  run  some  10  feet  north  and  90  feet  south,  along  and  in  this 
body  of  ore,  exposing  a thickness  of  5 to  10  feet,  all  of  which 
‘‘contained  gold  in  paying  quantities.” 

The  veinstone  is  quartz,  iron  carbonate  and  spongy  brown 
oxide  of  iron,  carrying  free  gold  and  copper  sulphurets  and  car- 
bonate. In  the  lowest  part  of  this  great  mass  of  ore,  the  richer 
portion,  about  1 feet  wide,  separated  from  the  remainder  of  the 
vein  by  a well-defined  line  of  demarkation,  will  all  assay  high 
— up  to  $300  per  ton. 

Just  south  of  the  shaft,  a cut  has  been  made  from  the  drift, 
across  this  body  of  ore,  measuring  some  37  feet,  to  the  foot  wall, 
giving  a thickness  of  upwards  of  20  feet.  A large  part  of  this 
thickness  is  composed  of  crushed  slates  filled  with  strings  of 
quartz.  A sample  taken  across  this  section,  which  is  10  to  15 
feet  high,  including  slates,  quartz  and  everything  representing  the 
whole  body  of  the  vein,  yielded  $22.73  per  ton  (Hanna).  Of 
course  by  a process  of  selection,  throwing  out  the  poorer  masses 
of  quartz,  spar  and  slate,  the  yield  per  ton  might  be  doubled  or 
increased  even  to  a higher  percentage. 

Just  north  of  the  No.  1 South  shaft,  in  the  same  level,  is  cut 
Emmons’  second  cross  vein,  which  seems  to  coalesce  with  the  bed 
of  ore  just  mentioned.  There  is,  therefore,  exposed  an  immense 
mass  of  ore,  in  the  mere  exploitation  of  which,  by -the  drifts  and 


72 


GOLD  DEPOSITS  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


cross-cuts,  made  in  the  development  of  this  part  of  the  vein,  a 
pile  of  material  has  been  accumulated  at  the  surface,  which  is 
estimated  to  contain  nearly  3,000  tons  of  ore,  of  which  an  aver- 
age sample  gave  Mr.  Clausen,  chemist  of  the  Conrad  Hill  Gold 
and  Copper  Company,  $28.60  per  ton. 

In  Ho.  2 South  shaft,  according  to  Wilder,  the  veins  cut  at  67 
feet  represent  the  front  and  middle  veins  of  Emmons.  On  this 
point  “a  cross-cut  has  been  driven  62?  feet  hack  and  into  the 
first  and  second  veins,  and  two  levels  started,  one  each  way,  on 
the  course  of  the  first  vein.  Both  sides  of  the  drift  are  in  good 
ore,  and  in  the  southeast  side  a course  of  gold  and  copper  ores, 
varying  from  18  to  2d  inches  in  thickness,  has  been  exposed. 
Indications  are  that  the  ores  here  are  as  rich  and  abundant  as  at 
Ho.  1 South  shaft.”  At  the  depth  of  100  feet  a drift  has  been 
carried  some  fifty  feet  south  in  a mass  of  ore,  of  which  only  the 
foot  wall  is  exposed,  on  which  lies  an  ore  course  of  about  2 feet, 
the  veinstone  being  quartz  and  brown  oxide  of  iron,  carrying 
gold  and  copper.  A sample  taken  along  this  ore  body  gives 
(Hanna)  $13.39  gold  per  ton. 

Some  forty  feet  north  of  this  shaft,  on  the  same  level,  a simi- 
lar ore  course  of  12  to  20  inches  of  prill  copper  (i.  e.  33  per  cent, 
copper)  is  exposed  towards  the  upper  part  of  the  vein,  while  a 
stope  driven  up  and  along  the  middle  of  it,  in  brown  oxide  and 
iron  carbonate,  gives,  by  assay  of  sample  representing  a thick- 
ness of  3 feet,  $17.58  for  gold  (Hanna).  This  is  probably 
Emmons’  second  vein.  There  is  exposed  in  these  two  drifts  a 
face  of  nearly  100  feet  of  ore,  with  three  good  ore  courses,  within 
a total  exposed  thickness  of  the  vein  of  not  less  than  ten  feet 
the  hanging  wall  being  nowhere  in  sight. 

Forty  or  fifty  feet  more  of  drifting  will  connect  this  level  with 
that  coming  south  from  Ho.  1 South  shaft.  Emmons’  third  cross 
vein  is  cut  in  this  shaft  at  the  depth  of  57  feet,  but  no  new  exca- 
vations have  been  made  at  this  level.  “At  a vertical  depth  of 
103  feet  from  the  surfice  this  shaft  cuts  into,  and  at  122  feet 
passes  through,  the  main  cross  vein,  proving  it  to  be  17  feet  thick 
at  this  point,,  and  composed  of  qnartz  and  carbonate  of  iron,  with 
more  or  less  yellow  sulphuret  of  copper.  The  vein  is  underlying 


DAVIDSON  COUNTY CONKAD  HILL  MINE. 


73 


at  46°,  and  the  shaft  will  be  continued  down  the  incline  of  the 
vein,  which  has  been  more  thoroughly  exposed  in  the  main  shaft.” 
This  shaft,  therfore,  opens  four  important  veins,  and  it  is  within 
40  feet  of  the  new  vein,  which  was  recently  discovered,  and 
which  can  also  be  worked  from  this  direction.  The  quantity  of 
ore  accessible  from  this  point,  therefore,  and  within  a very  mod- 
erate depth,  is  immense,  and  this  takes  no  account  of  the  back 
vein,  which,  of  course,  must  be  reached  at  no  great  depth  below 
the  present  termination. 

The  Main  or  Engine  shaft  is  situated  195  feet  west  of  No.  1, 
and  is  distant  240  feet  from  No.  2 South  shaft.  It  was  sunk  220 
feet  vertically,  and  subsequently  to  400  feet.  At  163  feet  the 
shaft  passes  through  the  main  cross  vein.  Throughout  the  entire 
distance  a rich  course  of  copper  ore  is  exposed  from  3 to  8 feet 
in  thickness,  of  which  1 to  4J  feet  is  solid  prill  ore,  giving  an 
average  of  not  less  than  2 feet.  Samples  taken  from  across  the 
whole  distance  of  the  face  of  this  prill,  and  assayed  by  Hanna, 
give  $11.98  gold  per  ton  in  addition  to  its  copper  value.  This 
ore  course  of  prill  copper  was  also  exposed,  in  a thickness  of  not 
less  than  5 feet,  in  a drift  northwards,  at  the  175  foot  level. 

The  general  course  of  metallurgical  treatment  at  this  time 
was  as  follows : The  matter  was  partly  sorted  out  underground, 

and  still  further  hand:cobbed  and  picked  in  the  sheds  ; the  richer 
ore  was  sent  at  once  to  the  copper  works  ; the  residues,  after 
passing  through  a Blake  Crusher,  were  jigged,  and  the  best 
material  added  to  the  richer  mine  stuff  above  alluded  to  ; the 
poorest  material  from  the  jigs  was  rejected,  the  medium  grade 
sent  at  once  to  the  stamp  battery  and  amalgamated  as  usual ; the 
tailings  from  the  battery  were  partly  concentrated  by  buddies 
and  blankets,  and  the  concentrates  sent  to  the  copper  works. 

At  the  outset,  the  richer  copper  minerals  were,  after  roasting, 
smelted  in  a shaft  furnace  for  matte,  from  which,  after  re-smelt- 
ing, black  copper  was  obtained  and  refined.  The  material,  how- 
ever, was  not  suited  to  this  treatment,  as  the  necessary  basic 
matter  was  lacking  to  make  a proper  flux,  and  smelting  was 
superseded  by  the  wet  method  under  the  Hunt  & Douglas  patent 
(old  method),  i.  e.,  the  crushed  ore  after  roasting  was  subjected  to 


74: 


GOLD  DEPOSITS  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


a bath  of  protochloride  of  iron,  for  the  conversion  of  the  insolu- 
ble copper  mineral  into  the  soluble  chloride ; after  leaching  the 
copper  was  precipitated  by  metallic  iron  and  refined.  The  resi- 
dues, now  mostly  peroxides,  were  sent  back  to  be  milled  and 
amalgamated,  and,  to  a slight  extent,  concentrated  again.  The 
final  products  were  gold  bullion  and  refined  ingot  copper. 

MONTGOMERY  COUNTY. 

The  deep  mines  of  this  county  have  been  very  prominent  in  the 
mining  history  of  the  State.  The  most  important  group  is  situ- 
ated in  the  extreme  northwestern  corner  of  the  county,  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  village  of  Eldorado. 

The  Russell  Mine  is  situated  about  3 miles  north  of  Eldorado, 
near  the  Randolph  county  line.  It  has  been  worked  more  exten- 
sively than  any  other,  and  has  therefore  allowed  better  oppor- 
tunity for  study. 

The  county  rock  is  an  argillaceous  slate,  both  of  the  soft  and 
silicified  types;  it  also  contains  small  quartz  stringers.  Some 
specimens  of  the  silicified  slate  showed  coatings  of  calcite,  and 
specimens  of  the  softer  slates  contained  small  irregular  calcite 
veins;  presumably  the  slate  in  general  is  somewhat  calcareous. 
The  strike  and  dip  are  variable.  In  the  eastern  end  ef  the  “ Big 
Cut  ” the  strike  of  the  schistosity  is  1ST.  55°  ME,  dip  40°  EE  E.  In 
a tunnel  leading  from  the  cut  southward  to  the  open  air,  the 
bedding  planes  of  the  slates  are  nearly  horizontal,  with  gentle 
undulations.  In  another  tunnel  entering  the  hillside,  west  of 
the  “ Big  Cut,”  the  strike  of  the  schistosity  is  IST.  24°  E.,  and  the 
dip  56°  to  80°  N.  ME  The  grain  of  the  slate  was  determined 
here  ; its  strike  is  N.  45°  E.,  and  the  dip  35°  S.  ME,  showing 
that  the  cleavage  was  produced  by  a force  acting  from  the  South- 
west downward,  and  developing  normal  faulting.  The  compres- 
sion was  not  great.  The  bedding  and  cleavage  planes  usually 
coincide,  but  in  eases,  particularly  where  the  bedding  is  at  a 
small  angle  to  the  horizontal,  they  do  not  coincide,  the  cleav- 
age being  much  steeper.  The  cleavage  planes  are  also  marked  by 
groovings.  Byrite  (with  the  merest  traces  of  chalcopyrite  ) to  the 
extent  of  from  2 to  4 per  cent,  is  almost  universally  present  in 


N.  C.  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY. 


BULLETIN  3,  PLATE  IV. 


BIG  CUT,  RUSSELL  MINE,  GLEN  BROOK,  N.  C- 


MONTGOMERY  COUNTY RUSSELL  MINE. 


75 


the  slates.  It  is  disseminated  in  isolated  crystals  up  to  J cube, 
and  also  in  irregular  stringers,  lenticles  and  coatings.  The 
entire  formation  is  gold  hearing,  but  only  certain  belts  are  rich 
enough  to  warrant  mining  operations. 

To  one  unfamiliar  with  the  formation,  it  is  difficult  to  distin- 
guish any  difference  between  the  richer  and  the  poorer  portions 
except  possibly  in  the  fact  that  the  former  are  somewhat  more 
altered;  and  even  the  miner,  long  familiar  with  the  region,  is 
often  .at  fault,  and  ascertains  his  true  course  only  by  constant 
“panning.” 

Occasionally  the  working  body  jumps  abruptly,  in  one  case 
not  less  than  ten  feet,  and  sometimes  further  on  resumes  its  old 
course.  The  change  in  grade  is  even  more  perplexing,  for  the 
external  signs  of  rich  and  poor  ore  are  of  the  vaguest  kind. 

There  are  at  least  6 of  these  belts  within  a distance  of  2,000 
feet  across  the  strike,  known  as  the  “ Little  Lead,”  the  “ Big- 
Cut,”  the  “ Riggins  Hill  Lead,”  the  “ Soliague  Lead,”  the 
“Walker  Lead,”  and  the  “Laurel  Hill  Lead.” 

Of  these  the  largest  and  most  extensively  worked  is  the  “ Big 
Cut,”  which  is  an  open  cut,  about  300  feet  long,  by  150  feet 
wide,  by  60  feet  deep.  (See  plate  IY.) 

The  ore  was  mined  by  blasting  down  large  masses  at  a time, 
and  the  cost  of  mining  was  thus  reduced  to  a minimum.  On  the 
eastern  edge  of  the  cut  is  a shaft  150  feet  deep,  from  the  bottom 
of  which  the  ore  has  been  stoped  upward. 

It  is  stated  that  the  average  ore,  embracing  the  entire  .mate- 
rial from  this  cut,  milled  82.00  per  ton.  There  were  some 
streaks  from  1 to  5 feet  wide,  which  went  much  higher,  and  por- 
tions of  the  ore  were  so  rich  that  it  was  carried  out  in  powder 
kegs. 

The  following  series  of  assays  shows  how  wide  the  variation  is  ; 

Ass'njft,  Gold  Ores,  Russell  Mine , Montgomery  County. 


(46)  (47)  (48)  (49)  (50)  (51)  (52)  (53)  (54)  (55)  (56) 

Gold  (per  ton) $2.07  $2.07  $3.10  $3.10  $4.13  $5.17  $7.24  $9.30  $9.30  $10.34  $14.47 

Silver  “ “ 06  .26  trace  .22  .10  1.10  .61  .39  .84  1.06  1.55 


$2.13  $2.33  $3.10  $3.32  $4.23  $6.27  $7.85  $9  69  $10.14  $11.40  $16.02 


76 


GOLD  DEPOSITS  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


Assays , 6 fold  Ores,  Russell  Mine  ( Continued ). 


(57)  (58)  (59)  (60)  (61)  (62)  (63) 

Gold  (per  ton) $22.74.. ..$39.27. ...$43.10.. ..$84.75.... $173.63. ...$237  70... .$320.38 

Silver  “ “ 13 77....  4.29...  2.07....  3.10....  6.31....  12.08 


$22.87  $40.04  $47.69  $86.82  $176.73  $244.01  $332.46 

A forty  stamp  mill  in  good  condition  is  located  on  the  prop- 
erty. The  mine  was  not  in  operation  when  last  visited  in  the 
late  fall  of  1894;  hut  preparations  are  now  in  progress  for  the 
erection  of  a cyanide  plant  for  the  treatment  of  the  ores. 

The  Appalachian  (or  Coggins)  Mine  is  situated  in  close  prox- 
imity to  Eldorado.  The  schists  here  have  a strike  A.  40°  E.,  and 
dip  steeply  to  the  northwest;  they  are  quite  similar  to  those  of 
the  Russell,  though  possibly  less  siliceous  or  more  chloritic. 

The  mine,  as  far  as  developed,  shows  large  bodies  of  low-grade 
ore  similar  to  those  of  the  Russell,  yet  ores  that  are  easily  with- 
in the  limits  of  profitable  work. 

At  the  surface  there  appeared  to  be  two  ore  bodies  separated 
bv  a narrow  and  comparatively  barren  bed  of  schists  of  like 
character. 

The  depth  of  the  last  workings  was  160  feet.  A forty  stamp 
mill  stands  on  the  property. 

Several  assays  of  the  ore  show  its  variation,  similar  to  that  of 
the  Russell. 


Assays,  Gold  Ores,  Appalachian  Mine,  Montgomery  Co. 


Gold  (per  ton) 
Silver  “ “ 


(64) 

$•>.07  

<65'* 

(66) 

$113.68 

IS 

1 *29 

$2.20 

$4.81 

$114.97 

The  Morris  Mountain  (Davis  or  Dutton)  Mine  is  one  mile 
nearly  west  of  the  Appalachian.  The  occurrence  of  the  gold  is 
similar  to  that  at  the  Russell  mine.  It  is  occasionally  concen- 
trated in  the  joint  planes  of  the  slates,  which  are  sometimes  very 
rich.  On  account  of  the  small  developments,  the  capabilities  of 


MONTGOMERY  COUNTY STEEL  MINE. 


77 


this  mine  have  never  been  demonstrated.  Assays  of  the  ores 
have  shown  the  following  contents  : 

Assays,  Gold  Ores , Morris  Mountain  Mine , Montgomery  County. 

(67)  (6S) 

Gold,  per  ton $3  61 $82.68 

Silver,  per  ton 68 trace 

$1.29  $82,68 

The  Riggon  Hill  Mine  is  situated  3 miles  east  of  Eldorado. 
The  ore  body  consists  of  a quartz  vein,  reported  to  be  2i  feet  in 
thickness,  lying  approximately  conformable  with  the  schistosity 
of  the  country  rock.  It  has  been  opened  by  a prospecting  shaft, 
100  feet  in  depth.  Rich  ores,  both  in  gold  and  silver,  are 
reported  from  here. 

The  Steel  Mine,  and  its  extension,  the  Saunders,  are  on  the 
east  side  of  the  Uharrie  river,  2 miles  southeast  of  Eldorado.  The 
nature  of  the  country  rock  and  of  the  ore  deposits  are  quite  like 
those  of  the  Russell  mine. 

The  ore  body  varies  from  9 to  12  feet  in  thickness,  and  occa- 
sionally rises  to  20  feet.  The  strike  is  H.  25°  E.,  and  the  dip 
70°  H.  W.,  becoming  steeper  as  depth  is  gained. 

The  most  valuable  part  of  this  deposit  consists  in  what  is 
locally  called  “string  veins” — narrow  seams  of  ore,  which  run 
through  the  mass  with  some  general  conformity  to  the  slates. 
There  are  usually  several  of  these  strings  approximately  parallel, 
and  from  a line  to  nearly  twelve  inches  in  thickness.  The  com- 
bined thickness  of  these  seams  is  rarely  less  than  15  inches,  and 
is  sometimes  more  than  three  feet.  There  is  a considerable  pro- 
portion of  free  gold  present,  but  a large  part  is  so  intimately 
associated  with  the  sulphurets  as  to  be  refractory  to  any  mere 
mill  process,  and  will  need  a smelting  treatment.  The  associ- 
ated mineral  matter  is  galena,  blende,  chalcopyrite,  and  pyrite. 

The  rich  ores  of  this  part  of  the  ore  body  have,  ever  since  the 
mine  was  worked,  been  called  “Ho.  1”  ores,  and  are  so  alluded 
to  in  all  reports.  The  rest  of  the  deposit  has  a very  small  but 
varying  proportion  of  sulphurets,  and  is  generally  rich  enough  to 


78 


GOLD  DEPOSITS  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


■justify  the  treatment  of  the  entire  mass.  This  ore  is  known  as 
“No.  2”. 

The  remarkable  richness  of  some  of  these  “Nff.  1”  ores  is 
shown  by  the  following  assays  by  Prof.  F.  A.  Genth  : 


Assays , “No.  1”  Gold  Ores,  Steel  Mine , Montgomery  County. 


Gold,  per  ton 

Sliver.  “ “ 

(69) 

$428.90 

not  det 

(70) 

— $564.70 

10.03 

(71) 

....$2,648.24 

(72) 

$9,665.70 

....  151.54 

$428.90 

$574.73 

$2,699.31 

$9,817.24 

Assays  of  “No.  2”  ore,  also  by  Prof.  Genth,  have  shown  the 
following  results : 

Assays,  “No.  2”  Gold  Ores,  Steel  Mine,  Montgomery  County. 

(73)  (74)  (75)  (76) 

Gold,  perton $26.46 $39.27  .....$55.19 $161.84 

Silver,  “ “ 2.58 2.45 2.0S 4.60 

$28.99  $41.72  $57.27  $166,44 

An  examination  of  these  figures  will  justify  the  early  reputa- 
tion of  the  mine  for  richness.  As  a matter  of  course  the  most 
ardent  friends  of  the  mine  do  not  claim  any  such  values  for  the 
ores  at  the  present  depth  (220  feet).  The  mine  was  last  operated 
by  the  Genesee  Gold  Mining  Company  in  connection  with  a 40 
stamp  mill.  The  sulphurets  were  concentrated  for  metallurgical 
treatment. 

The  Beaver  Dam  Mine  is  situated  at  Flaggtown  postoffice,  2 
miles  northeast  of  the  junction  of  Beaver  Dam  creek  and  the 
Yadkin  river.  The  mining  tract  contains  800  acres,  one-half  of 
which  is  claimed  to  be  underlaid  by  gravel.  This  gravel  is  from 
2 to  4 feet  thick  and  overlaid  by  an  alluvial  deposit  5 to  15  feet 
thick.  The  bed  rock  is  a decomposed  silicified  schist. 

A fair  supply  of  water  is  afforded  by  Beaver  Dam  creek  tor 
hydraulic  operations.  The  fall  from  the  gravel  bed  to  the  river, 
along  Beaver  Dam  creek,  is  one  inch  per  rod,  for  a distance  of 
lj  to  2 miles.  Operations  on  a large  scale  have  always  been 
hindered  by  the  presence  of  a tenacious  white  clay,  which  is 
commonly  mixed  with  the  gravel.  Much  of  the  broken  down 
quartz  would  apparently  bear  a mill  treatment,  if  an  automatic 


MONTGOMERY  COUNTY MORATOCK  MINE. 


79 


and  cheap  process  could  be  introduced  as  an  adjunct  to  hydraulic 
mining. 

There  are  large  and  extensive  bodies  of  greenstone  on  the 
property,  which  contain  a sprinkling  of  iron  pyrites,  and  gener 
ally  a little  gold,  as  follows  : 

Assay,  Pyritiferous  Greenstone , Near  Beaver  Bam  Mine. 


CTO 

Gold,  per  ton $2.07 

Silver,  “ “ 32 


$2.39 

This  is  mentioned  to  show  the  extent  and  character  of  the  dif- 
fusion of  gold. 

The  Moratock  Mine  is  situated  6 miles  north  of  the  Sam 
Christian,  and  8 miles  south  of  Eldorado.  The  country  rock  is  a 
highly  silicified  quartz  porphyry  and  a brecciated  tuff.  The 
quartz  porphyry  at  first  sight  resembles  a compact,  homogeneous 
hornstone  or  flint,  but  upon  close  examination  it  is  found  to  con- 
tain small,  black,  glassy  specks,  which  are  presumably  quartz. 
However,  the  true  porphyritic  nature  of  the  rock  is  clearly 
brought  out  in  the  weathered  specimens,  the  feldspathic  ground- 
mass  being  decomposed  and  altered,  while  the  quartz  remains 
intact  as  crystals  with  partially  rounded,  but  yet  distinct  hexa- 
gonal outlines.  Indistinct  flow  structure  is  also  visible  in  the 
fresh  rock,  and  it  is  emphasized  in  the  ground-mass  of  the  altered 
specimens.  The  porphyry  contains  pyrite  crystals  up  to  i inch 
cube,  sparingly  distributed  : (1)  irregularly,  (2)  along  small 

seams,  and  (3)  in  minute  cavities  or  geodes.  Some  chalcopyrite 
also  occurs.  The  main  rock  mass  is  intersected  by  several  small 
quartz  fissure  veins,  less  than  one  inch  in  thickness,  and  these 
are  reported  to  be  rich  in  gold.  The  brecciated  tuff  was  not  seen 
in  place,  but  several  very  large  boulders  were  found  in  the  hill- 
side near  the  mill.  Some  of  the  porphyry  fragments  in  this 
breccia  are  as  large  as  12  inches  square.  Chalcopyrite  and  green 
copper  carbonate  stains  were  also  noticed. 

The  Moratock  mine  was  first  opened  about  2 years -ago,  and 
the  principal  work  consists  of  a small  open  quarry  in  the  pyritic 
quartz-porphyry  mass.  However,  the  percentage  of  sulphurets 
6 


80 


GOLD  DEPOSITS  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


in  this  rock  is  so  insignificant  that  it  could  never  make  a work- 
able ore.  It  is  stated  that  the  assays  showed  less  than  $1.00  per 
ton.  A shallow  shaft  has  also  been  sunk  in  one  of  the  narrow 
quartz  veins.  Altogether,  it  appears  only  natural  that  the  whole, 
undertaking  should  be  abandoned,  as  it  is.  A ten  stamp  mill, 
equipped  with  a cyanide  plant,  stands  on  the  property. 

The  Reynolds  Mine , 6 miles  northeast  of  Troy,  and  the  Carter , 
a little  nearer  to  Troy,  have  been  worked  to  the  depths  of  80  and 
100  feet  respectively.  Little  is  known  of  these  mines.  Both  of 
them  contain  telluride  of  gold,  according  to  Emmons.1 

A belt  of  gravel  mines  is  found  on  the  west  flanks  of  the 
Uharie  mountains,  and  between  them  and  the  Uharie  river. 
The  northernmost  limit  of  these  deposits  is  known  to  extend  to 
Barnes’  Creek  in  Randolph  county,  and  may  even  reach  to 
within  5 or  6 miles  of  Asheboro. 

The  localities  best  known  and  most  worked  are  the  Bright, 
Ophir  (or  Davis),  Spanish  Oak  Gap,  Dry  Hollow,  Island  Creek, 
Deep  Flat,  Pear  Tree  Hill,  Tom’s  Creek,  Harbin’s,  Bunnell 
Mountain,  Dutchman's  Creek,  and  the  Worth,  the  latter  being 
near  the  junction  of  the  Uharie  and  the  Yadkin. 

All  of  these  were  largely  and  profitably  worked  as  long  as  the 
naturally  concentrated  material  lasted,  and  the  proximity  of 
water  favored  work.  At  present  the  supply  of  available  water 
is  entirely  inadequate  for  the-  working  of  these  properties,  and 
the  tailing  ground  is  not  always  favorable.  The  presence  of  a 
tenacious  clay  with  the  gravel  has  also  caused  difficulties  in  the 
treatment.  Occasionally  a brilliant  find  of  nuggets  is  made 
which  gives  a spasmodic,  but  short  lived,  activity  to  the  section, 
but  no  large  work  or  permanent  activity  can  be  expected,  till  an 
abundant  and  sure  supply  of  water  can  be  secured. 

The  Sam  Christian  Mine  is  situated  12  miles  east  of  Albe- 
marle, and  3 miles  east  of  Swift  Island  Ford. 

This  mine  has  gained  something  more  than  a local  reputation, 
and  has  been  productive  of  remarkably  large  and  fine  nuggets. 

The  gold  is  found  in  old  “channels”,  in  gravel  of  a thickness 
from  one  (1)  to  three  (3)  feet,  and  deeply  covered  with  soil.  It 


^Geology  of  the  Midland  Counties  of  North  Carolina,  1S56,  pp.  lug — 169. 


MONTGOMERY  COUNTY SAM  CHRISTIAN  MINE. 


81 


is  rarely  found  in  the  shape  of  dust,  hut  generally  in  nuggets  of 
from  5 to  more  than  1,000  pennyweights. 

The  tract  contains  1,286  acres,  and  has  been  worked  in  several 
places,  especially  “Dry  Hollow,”  “The  Sam  Christian  Cut,”  and 
“California  Cut.”  Other  channels  are  also  known. 

The  method  of  work  pursued  at  this  mine  consisted  of  a 
removal  of  the  soil  resting  on  the  gravel,  followed  by  a very  care- 
ful washing  of  the  gravel  in  sluices  and  rockers.  Where  the 
overlay  was  slight  it  was  removed  by  simple  digging.  In  other 
cases  it  was  washed  away  by  hydraulic  giants.  The  “harvest” 
periods  were  uncertain  and  intermittent;  a few  days  or  even  a 
few  hours  would  sometimes  suffice  for  obtaining  a large  reward 
for  weeks  or  months  of  almost  unproductive  labor.  The  following 
interesting  table  of  40  nuggets,  obtained  from  1,070  cubic  feet  of 
grit  in  1880,  illustrates  well  the  result  from  a campaign  of  88 
washing  days  : 


Weights  of  40  Nuggets , Sam  Christian  Mine , Montgomery  County. 


Dwts. 

Dwts. 

Dwts. 

Dwts. 

430 

22 

15 

41 

59 

32 

n 

148 

39 

22 

66 

540 

167 

132  (2  nuggets) 

21 

240 

16 

111  (9  nuggets) 

13 

241 

64 

26 

55 

6 

1,024 

62 

48 

Total  4,200  dwts. 

5 

30 

484 

The  mine  was  last  operated  about  1893.  Water  was  supplied 
from  a pumping  station  on  the  Yadkin  river,  some  2 \ miles  dis- 
tant, through  a line  of  20-inch  iron  pipe.  The  total  elevation  of 
the  point  of  discharge  above  the  water  level  at  Swift  Island  ferry 
is  416.8  feet. 

j*. 

The  country  rock  at  the  Sam  Christian  is  the  argillaceous  slate 
of  the  Monroe  type  (see  p.  36),  of  which  there  are  some  “good 
exposures”  in  the  “Dry  Hollow.”  A number  of  strikes  were 
observed  here,  from  N.  5°  W.  to  M.  20°  E.,  with  dips  from  45°  S.W. 
to  30°  H.W.,  and  in  places  nearly  horizontal.  The  slates  show  dis- 
tinct banding,  with  and  at  angles  to  the  cleavage.  These  slates  are 
broken  through  by  large  eruptive  masses  of  devitrified  volcanic 
breccia  and  hornstone,  the  true  field  relations  of  which,  however, 


82 


GOLD  DEPOSITS  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


could  not  be  satisfactorily  determined,  but  the  coarse  breccia  con- 
tains fragments  of  the  hornstone  (as  large  as  4 inches  square),  and 
is  most  probably  a tuff  agglomerate.  The  hornstone  contains 
occasional  fine  particles  of  pyrite.  Its  surface  weathers  with  a 
raised  layer  of  rounded  concretions,  thus  resembling  the  quartz 
porphyry  at  the  Moratock  mine  (see  p.  79).  Very  good  exposures 
of  this  rock  were  seen  in  the  “Sam  Christian  Cut.”  This  eruptive 
rock  contains  small  quartz  fissure  veins  from  \ to  3 inches  wide, 
striking  M.  70°  W.,  and  dipping  60°  N.  E. 

Several  shafts  have  been  sunk  in  some  of  these  narrow  veins, 
and  it  is  almost  needless  to  remark  that  attempts  at  deep  mining  on 
i to  3-inch  veins  were  failures.  The  gold  in  the  gravel  came  from 
the  breaking  down  of  the  numerous  small  quartz  veins  in  the 
underlying  and  contiguous  rock.  Seven  such  veins,  all  less  than 
three  inches  thick,  are  shown  on  plate  V,  as  they  are  exposed  in 
the  upper  end  of  the  “Dry  Hollow”  gulch  of  the  Sam  Christian 
mine. 

MINES  IN  STANLY  COUNTY. 

The  Haithcock,  Hearne,  and  Lowder  mines  are  from  2 to  4 
miles  northwest  of  Albemarle,  the  coin n ty  seat.  The  quartz 
veins  of  these  mines  are  stated  to  be  from  2 to  4 feet  in  thick- 
ness, lying  approximately  conformable  with  the  schists.  Ho 
active  work  has  been  carried  on  for  a great  many  years.  Some 
prospect  work  was  in  progress  at  the  Lowder  mine  during  the 
summer,  1895. 

The  Crawford  (or  Ingraji)  Mine  is  situated  4 miles  north- 
east of  Albemarle.  It  is  a placer  deposit  of  comparatively  recent 
discovery  (August,  1892). 

The  auriferous  gravel  is  situated  in  the  valley  of  a small 
stream,  and  is  overlaid  by  2 to  4 feet  of  soil.  The  thickness  of 
the  gravel  is  from  1£  to  2 feet  in  the  centre  of  the  basin,  thin- 
ing  out  towards  the  edges.  The  widtn  of  the  deposit  is  about 
250  feet. 

The  bed  rock  is  slate  of  the  Monroe  type,  lying  in  a fiat  syn- 
clinal. The  gravel  is  composed  of  angular  fragments  of  this  slate 
and  white  quartz,  bound  together  in  a clay  matrix.  The  lack  of 
sufficient  water  for  washing  the  material  on  a large  and  continu- 


SMALL  QUARTZ  VEINS  IN  DECAYED  SCHISTS,  AND  OVERLYING  AURIFEROUS  “g  R A V EL. ' SAM  CHRISTIAN  MINE. 


Hxv'ici  y NixH'nne  'A3A>ms  'ivoiooioa 


STANLY  COUNTY PARKER  MINE. 


88 


ous  scale  presented  a serious  difficulty  at  this  mine.  In  1894  the 
Crawford  Gold  Mining  Company  solved  this  problem  by  a very 
unique  device.  A wooden  tank,  holding  about  200  'cubic  yards, 
is  situated  at  some  elevation  above  the  stream  bed.  At  one  end 
of  the  tank  is  a stand  pipe,  about  30  feet  high,  which  is  supplied 
with  water  from  a reservoir  below  by  a steam  pump.  The  gravel, 
together  with  a portion  of  the  overlay  and  bed  rock,  is  hauled  to 
the  top  of  the  tank  in  tram  cai’S,  and  dumped.  Here  it  is  washed 
by  the  discharge  from  the  stand-pipe.  A line  of  riffled  sluice 
boxes  runs  from  an  opening  in  one  side  and  near  the  bottom  of 
the  tank.  The  gold  is  collected  from  the  bottom  of  the  tank  and 
from  the  riffles  in  the  sluices.  It  occurs  exclusively  in  the  shape 
of  nuggets,  there  being  no  dust  gold  to  speak  of. 

Two  particularly  large  nuggets  have  recently  been  found  here, 
one  weighing  8 pounds  and  5 ounces,  on  April  8,  1S95,  and  another 
weighing  10  pounds,  on  August  22,  1895. 

Some  of  the  gravel  is  worked  directly  in  rockers,  by  tributers, 
who  pay  a royalty  for  this  privilege. 

The  source  of  this  nugget  gold  has  not  yet  been  found.  On  the 
hillside,  adjoining  the  shallow  valley  in  which  the  gravel  deposit 
is  situated,  several  quartz  veins,  from  2 to  3 feet  in  thickness,  have 
been  explored.  Pan  tests  show  that  the  quartz  is  very  slightly 
auriferous  in  places,  but  there  is  no  sign  of  coarse  gold. 

The  Parker  Mine  is  situated  at  Hew  London,  about  9 miles 
northwest  of  Albemarle. 

The  country  slates  are  those  of  the  Monroe  type ; they  are 
intruded  by  successive  flows  of  greenstone  porphyry  and  some  more 
basic  eruptives,  in  part  brecciated.  The  mine  shafts  have  disclosed 
at  least  two  such  eruptive  sheets,  from  2 to  3 feet  each  in  thick- 
ness, lying  nearly  horizontally  and  separated  by  sedimentary 
slates.  In  places  the  greenstone  is  sheared  into  nearly  vertical 
schistose  masses. 

Numberless  auriferous  quartz  stringer  veins,  from  less  than  one 
to  eighteen  inches  in  thickness,  intersect  the  country  rock  in  all 
directions.  Besides  these  several  larger  and  more  persistent  veins 
occur.  The  quartz  is  imperfectly  crystallized  and  often  cellular. 

Weathering  agencies  have  distributed  the  gold  through  the 


84 


GOLD  DEPOSITS  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


decomposed  rock  (soil)  to  depths  of  10  or  20  feet.  A combi- 
nation sluicing  and  milling  process  (Dahlonega  method)  was  in 
operation  here  at  one  time;  the  results,  however,  were  unsatis- 
factory. The  flushed  material  milled  only  about  50  cents  per  ton, 
although  the  quartz  itself  is  shown  by  some  assays  to  run  as  high 
as  $4  to  $6  per  ton.  It  was,  however,  impracticable  to  select  it. 

The  principal  yield  of  gold  at  the  Parker  mine  has  been  from 
the  old  gravel  channels.  The  gold  was  coarse,  and  in  nuggets. 
The  largest  nugget  of  which  there  is  accurate  knowledge  weighed 
8 pounds,  3 oz  , 2 dwts.  The  aggregate  production  is  estimated 
at  $200,000.00. 

The  value  of  the  gravel  is  stated  to  vary  from  $0,044  to  $2.44 
per  cubic  yard.  Although  hydraulicking  is  at  present  abandoned, 
the  placer  ground  has  not  been  exhausted.  At  one  point  exami- 
nations have  shown  that  the  bed  rock  of  the  gravel  channel  is  a 
sheet  of  soft  decomposed  greenstone  but  3 feet  in  thickness,  and 
that  this  is  underlaid  by  still  another  gravel  deposit,  which  will 
warrant  hydraulic  operations.  The  hydraulic  plant,  which  is  in 
good  condition,  consists  of  a pumping  station  at  the  Yadkin  river, 
4i  miles  distant,  and  an  iron  pipe  line  to  a stand  pipe,  situaled 
near  the  mine.  The  head  furnished  from  the  stand  pipe  to  the 
workings  is  about  90  feet. 

The  present  work  at  this  mine  consists  in  the  development  of 
some  of  the  larger  quartz  veins.  The  “ Ross  ” shaft  is  being  sunk 
and  it  is  expected  to  intersect  an  ore  body  by  means  of  a cross-cut 
extending  eastward  from  the  120-foot  level.  Some  surface  wash- 
ing is  being  carried  on  with  the  water  pumped  from  the  above 
shaft,  the  general  returns  being  SO  to  100  dwts.  per  month.  One 
nugget  of  3 ounces  was  recently  found  (Rov.,  1895). 

Some  assays  of  the  vein  quartz  show  the  following  results  : 

Assays , Gold  Ore  from  the  Parker  Mine,  Stanly  County. 

(IS)  (79)  (SO)  (SI) 

Gold,  per  ton $ 13.43 $ 7.23 $ 4.14 $ 3.10 

Silver,  per  ton 32 20 trace Trace 

$ 13.75  $ 7.43  $ 4.14  $ 3.10 

No.  78.  Quartz  vein.  Upcast  shaft. 

No.  79.  Accompanying  wall  rock  (schist),  5 feet  thick. 

No.  80.  Flint  Spring  vein. 

No.  81.  Other  quartz  veins. 

The  Crowell  Mine  is  but  a short  distance  from  the  Parker. 
The  ore  body  does  not  differ  in  a marked  degree  from  the  adjacent 


THE  GOLD  HILL  GROUP  OE  MINES. 


85 


“country,”  for  both  are  auriferous.  Both  are  silicified,  sericite  and 
chlorite  schists,  containing  finely  disseminated  pyrite.  The  ore 
body  is  from  4 to  7 feet  in  thickness,  and  will  frequently  pay  to 
work  as  a whole.  The  “pay-streak”  is  much  narrower,  and  often 
becomes  only  a line  in  thickness.  The  last  workings  extended  to 
a depth  of  125  feet. 

The  range  of  value  of  the  ores  is  indicated  by  the  following 
assays : 

Assays , Gold  Ores  from  the  Crowell  Mine , Stanly  County. 

(82)  (83)  (84)  (85) 

Gold,  per  ton $ 7.23 $ 10.23 $ 23.S7 $168.46 

Silver,  per  ton 91 17 trace  71 

$8  14  $ 10.40  $ 23.87  $169.17 

The  Barringer  Mine  is  situated  4 miles  southeast  of  Gold 
Hill.  Enormously  rich  ore  is  occasionally  found,  but  the  mine 
has  been  so  long  and  so  largely  in  litigation,  that  no  considerable 
exploratory  work  has  yet  been  done.  The  ore  is  frequently  very 
deceptive  and  assays  much  richer  than  its  appearance  warrants, 
viz  : 

Assays , Gold  Ores  from  the  Barringer  Mine , Stanly  County. 

(86)  (87)  (88)  (89)  (90) 

Gold,  per  ton $ 2.07 $ 5.17 $ 5.17 $ 346.23 $510.00 

Silver,  per  ton 26  26 32 2.26 4.52 

$ 2.33  $ 5.43  $ 5 49  $ 348  49  $ 544.52 

None  of  these  samples  differed  much  in  external  appearance. 

MINES  IN  ROWAN  AND  CABARRUS  COUNTIES. 

The  Gold  Hill  Group  of  Mines.1  This  constitutes  one  of  the 
most  noted  mining  districts  in  North  Carolina,  and  has  been  one 
of  the  most  productive. 

The  village  of  Gold  Hill  is  situated  14  miles  southeast  of  Salis- 
bury on  a branch  line  of  the  Southern  R.  R. 

The  group  comprises  a number  of  mines  situated  in  a belt  of 
auriferous  schists,  lying  directly  east  of  the  Dunn  Mountain 
granite  area,  nearly  1J  miles  long,  from  northeast  to  southwest, 
and  f mile  wide,  from  northwest  to  southeast,  in  the  southeast 
corner  of  Rowan  County,  extending  over  into  Cabarrus  County 
on  the  south,  and  Stanley  County  on  the  east. 

1Geologrlcal  Report  of  the  Midland  Counties  of  North  Carolina.  E.  Emmons,  1856,  pp. 
154, 166,  205,  207. 


86 


GOLD  DEPOSITS  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


None  of  these  mines  are  now  in  operation  and  but  little  can  be 
seen. 

The  outcrops  of  the  veins  were  not  bold,  and  in  some  cases  (the 
Randolph,  for  example),  were  so  obscured  and  covered,  that  they 
were  only  discovered  by  accident,  and  at  a comparatively  late 
date  in  the  history  of  mining  in  the  State — 1842. 

This  series  of  mines  is  situated  on  the  narrow  plateau  of  a low- 
lying  northeast  and  southwest  ridge,  which  is  broken  by  a small 
gulch  near  the  Standard  mines,  and  by  a still  deeper  gulch  on  the 
McMaltin  tract,  making  the  surface  here  quite  hilly.  The  ridge 
generally  slopes  gently  both  to  the  southeast  and  to  the  north- 
west. 

The  mines  are  grouped  quite  closely  together,  and  very  little 
mineral  matter  is  found  to  the  west  of  Buffalo  creek,  which  skirts 
the  ridge  on  the  west. 

The  country  schists  are  chloritic  and  argillaceous,  the  chloritic 
constituent  being  if  anything  more  marked  at  the  northeastern 
end,  and  the  argillaceous  at  the  southwestern.  The  strike  of 
the  schistosity  is  N.  25°  to  30°  E.,  and  the  dip  gener- 
ally 75°  to  80°  N.  W.,  occasionally  vertical,  and  rarely 
slightly  to  the  east  of  the  vertical. 

A diabase  dike,  about  15  feet  in  width,  intersects  the  country 
in  the  Randolph  and  Earnhardt  workings.  It  strikes  N.  13° 
W.,  and  is  said  to  split  into  two  prongs  between  the  Center  and 
Earnhardt  shafts. 

The  character  of  the  ore  bodies  is  that  common  to  the  “ slate 
belt  ” elsewhere.  The  schists  are  impregnated,  over  certain 
widths,  with  auriferous  sulphurets  (pyrite,  ehalcopyrite  and 
galena)  occurring  in  isolated  crystals  and  small  lenticular  masses, 
and  accompanied  by  lenticular  stringers  of  quartz.  And  these 
belts  constitute  the  so-called  “ veins.” 

The  shoots  or  ore  bodies  have  generally  a northerly  pitch  of  their 
own  in  the  veins,  i.  e.,  the  workable  bodies  of  ore  occur  alternating 
with  relatively  barren  schists,  and  these  bodies  tend  to  the  north 
more  and  more  as  the  depth  increases. 

There  are  at  least  10  well-defined  veins  in  the  district  (see 
plate  VI). 


N.  C.  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY. 


BULLETIN  3,  PLATE  VI. 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY.  BULLETIN  3,  PLATE  VII. 


V 


£ 


THE  GOLD  HILL  GROUP  OF  MINES. 


87 


Prominent  among  these  are  the  Randolph,  Earnhardt,  Hunni- 
cut  (Honeycut),  Open  Cut  copper  vein  on  the  Standard  property, 
the  Trautman  gold  vein  and  the  McMakin  silver  vein. 

But  closely  associated  with  these  are  outlying  bodies,  which 
may  also  be  independent  veins — for  example,  the  Old  Field  body, 
which  is  between  the  Barnhardt  and  Hunnicut  veins,  and  is  made 
up  of  several  nearly  parallel  bodies  of  ore  which  are  very  narrow, 
varying  in  width  from  one  to  several  inches,  intercalated  with  the 
schists  and  very  tortuous. 

The  Hunnicut  vein  has  been  proved  for  a length  of  400  yards, 
and  the  Barnhardt  for  an  equally  great  distance.  Most  of  these 
veins  conform  to  the  schists  both  in  strike  and  dip. 

The  Randolph  (or  Earnhardt)  vein  occupies  a position  on  the 
extreme  northwestern  edge  of  the  group.  It  has  been  worked 
for  a linear  distance  of  1500  feet,  and  to  a depth  of  740  feet. 
(See  Plate  VII.)  It  is  this  vein,  discovered  in  1854,  which  has 
contributed  most  to  the  celebrity  of  the  Gold  Hill  district,  and  is 
in  reality  The  Gold  Hill  Mine.  The  ore  chimneys  or  shoots  are 
especially  marked;  they  are  three  in  number  and  extend  to  the 
lowest  depths  to  which  the  mine  has  been  worked. 

The  Randolph  shaft  passes  through  the  Texas  shoot,  just  cuts 
the  northern  edge  of  the  Big  Sulphur  shoot,  and  is  but  a few  feet 
distant  from  the  Randolph  shoot.  The  ores  below  the  water 
level  are  highly  sulphuretted,  being  mostly  iron  pyrites.  The 
lowest  level,  at  740  feet,  carries  considerable  bodies  of  auriferous 
pyrites,  containing  (according  to  Mr.  Hambly,  a former  assayer  to 
the  company),  about  2 per  cent,  of  metallic  copper. 

The  thickness  of  the  ore  body  is  stated  by  Emmons  (in  1856, 
when  the  depth  of  the  mine  was  410  feet)  to  be  from  6 inches  to 
4 feet,  and  in  one  part  7 feet. 

As  respects  the  value  of  the  ores  it  is  very  difficult  to  speak 
with  exactness,  for  most  examinations  and  reports  have  been  made 
with  reference  to  the  plans  of  speculative  promotors  of  mines. 
Some  statements  that  have  been  made  public  are  unquestionably 
too  high  to  be  expected  from  steady  work.  It  is  probable  that 
the  contents  will  be  of  low  grade,  as  compared  with  the  ores 
nearer  the  surface. 


88 


GOLD  DEPOSITS  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


Some  indication  of  the  range  of  values  is  given  in  the  following 
assays : 

Assays,  Auriferous  Copper  Pyrites,  Gold  Hill  Mine. 

(91)  (92)  (93) 


Silica 52.30  per  cent.  per  cent.  per  cent. 

Copper 0.K5  per  cent.  2.59  per  cent.  5.96  per  cent. 

Sulphur 16.80  per  cent.  - — -percent.  percent. 

Iron 23.00  per  cent.  percent.  percent. 

Gold,  per  ton $25.84  $4.14  $5  68 

Silver 49  .71  2.26 

Total $26.33  $4.85  $7.94 


The  Barnhardt  vein  (discovered  in  1854)  is  400  feet  east  of  the 
Randolph.  The  ores  are  similar  to  those  of  the  Randolph,  but  in 
general  more  cupriferous.  (See  Plate  ArIII.) 

The  Old  Field  vein  lies  to  the  southwest  of  the  main  workings 
of  the  Barnhardt  ; it  consists  of  a series  of  ore  stringers  inter- 
calated in  the  schists.  These  seams  are  frequently  of  great  rich- 
ness, but  the  gold  “jumps”  from  one  seam  to  the  other  so  often 
as  to  cause  some  embarrassment  in  mining.  The  depth  of  the 
last  workings  extended  to  a little  more  than  130  feet. 

The  Hunnicut  (Honeycut)  vein  is  just  to  the  southwest  of  the 
Old  Field,  and  between  the  Barnhardt  and  Randolph.  It  is  from 
15  inches  to  2 feet  wide.  It  was  discovered  in  1842,  nearly  at  the 
commencement  of  the  mining  excitement  in  this  section,  and  was 
worked  with  great  profit  for  a time,  and  to  a depth  of  185  feet. 
It  is  stated  to  have  yielded  $101,665.00. 

The  Standard  vein  is  still  further  southwest.  It  consists  of 
several  narrow  belts  of  schists  charged  with  mineral  matter.  The 
ore  body  is  very  wide  near  the  surface,  but  at  greater  depths 
becomes  smaller.  The  deepest  work  was  at  84  feet. 

The  Trautman  vein  lies  on  the  extreme  southeastern  edge  of 
the  group.  It  was  the  site  of  the  first  discovery  of  gold  in  this 
section,  in  1842.  Down  to  20  feet  the  ores  were  auriferous,  and 
the  deposit  was  originally  opened  as  a gold  mine.  The  ore  was 
cellular  quartz,  containing  decomposed  sulphurets.  From  20  to 
60  feet  down  it  was  a mixture  of  hematite  and  highly  ferruginous 
quartz,  with  a little  crystallized  pyromorphite,  cerussite  and  other 
lead  minerals;  still  lower  down  it  was  auriferous  pyrite  and 
quartz.  At  the  depth  of  100  feet,  where  the  sulphurets  were 


GOLD  HILL  MINE — BARNHARDT  VEIN.  ROWAN  COUNT Y. 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY.  BULLETIN  3,  PLATE  VIII. 


THE  GOLD  HILL  GROUP  OF  MINES. 


89' 


unaltered,  the  ores  were  poorer  and  contained  a string  of  ash-grey 
blende  and  pyrite,  from  2 to  6 inches  wide,  which  had  much  in- 
creased at  greater  depths.  The  vein  is  stated1  to  have  yielded 
$400,000.00. 

The  McMakin  (or  Silver)  vein  is  situated  in  the  southwest  part 
of  the  district.  It  has  been  exploited  by  pits  for  several  hundred 
yards,  but  the  deeper  workings  have  extended  over  a linear  dis- 
tance of  about  200  feet  only.  No  work  has  been  done  on  it  for 
over  30  years.  It  was  entered  by  3 shafts,  the  deepest  of  which 
was  180  feet;  and  two  levels  were  driven,  one  at  66  feet  and  the 
other  at  the  bottom. 

There  are  two  veins,  designated  as  the  Main  vein  and  the  Little 
vein.  They  are  approximately  conformable  to  the  schistosity  in 
strike  and  dip,  viz.:  Strike  1ST.  45°— 60°  E.  and  dip  70°— 75°  S.  E. 

The  outcrop  consisted  largely  of  brown  hematite,  psilomelane, 
pyrolusite,  and  dolomite — the  first  and  second  predominating. 
Manganese  ores  disappear  at  a depth  of  twenty  feet  ; then  plum- 
bago, pyromorphite  and  cerussite  come  in  ; and  these  in  turn  go 
out  at  60  feet,  being  replaced  by  galenite,  blende,  pyrite,  chalco- 
pyrite,  and  highly  argentiferous  tetrahedrite.  The  prevailing 
gangue  is  carbonate  of  lime  and  barite  with  quartz.  Down  to  70 
feet  yellow  blende,  assaying  14  to  39T3^-  oz.  of  silver,  occurs  in 
larger  amounts  than  galenite  ; then  the  latter  predominates,  and  is 
accompanied  by  an  ever-increasing  amount  of  tetrahedrite,  and 
assaying  12  to  53^-^  oz.  silver. 

The  following  statement  by  Mr.  O.  J.  Heinrich,  E.  M.,2  will 
show  the  characteristics  fully  : “ At  the  depth  of  76  feet  between 
the  South  and  the  Whim  shafts  the  vein  is  4 to  10  feet  wide,  the 
vein  fissure  being  chiefly  occupied  by  carbonate  of  lime  and 
barite.” 

“This  gangue  carries  grains  and  small  masses  of  tetrahedrite  to  a 
width  of  two  feet  at  the  southeast;  the  central  part  of  the  vein 
contains  several  seams  of  tetrahedrite  and  yellow  blende,  and  the 


1 By  Emmons,  in  1856. 

2 In  a MSS.  report  to  the  owners  of  the  property.. 


90 


GOLD  DEPOSITS  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


northwest  has  yellow  blende  with  galenite  and  many  grains  of 
tetrahedite.  Tetrahedrite  is  found  at  its  best  close  to  the  hanging: 
wall  in  the  southeast.”  Average  samples  according  to  Dr.  Genth 
gave : 

Assays,  Silver  Ore,  McMakin  Mine,  Cabarrus  County. 

(91)  (95) 

Silver,  per  toil $ 317.95 $ 646.50 

“ Simple  cobbing  increases  the  contents,”  as  in  assay  number  95. 

There  is  a small  parallel  vein  west  of  the  main  vein,  which  has 
been  extensively  stoped,  from  the  Whim  shaft  to  the  surface;  its 
course  is  1ST.  50°  to  60°  E.,  and  dip  35°  S.  E.  There  are  probably 
other  parallel  veins,  both  to  the  northwest  and  southeast,  for  the 
whole  belt  is  metaliferous. 

Work  was  terminated  at  this  mine  in  1861,  and  the  vein  has  not 
been  touched  since. 

Emmons  states  that  up  to  1856  the  Gold  Hill  Mines  produced 
an  aggregate  of  $2,000,000.00. 

Dp  to  1874  it  is  estimated  that  $3,000,000.00  worth  of  tree  gold 
had  been  extracted  from  the  ores,  which  represents  but  20  to  33 
per  cent,  of  the  assay  value  of  the  ores. 

Until  1881,  when  a 20  stamp  mill  was  erected,  the  mode  of 
extraction  was  entirely  by  Chilian  mills  and  rockers.  The  last 
regular  operations  were  carried  on  by  the  Hew  Gold  Hill  Com- 
pany under  the  management  of  Mr.  Richard  Eames  in  1893,  when 
ores  from  the  Barnhardt  vein  were  treated  in  a 10  stamp  mill  near 
the  mine. 

Since  that  time  work  at  Gold  Hill  has  been  of  a spasmodic  and 
petty  character,  carried  on  by  tributers  who  mill  the  decomposed 
material  from  the  old  mine  dumps,  in  the  Barnhardt  mill. 

Although  the  Gold  Hill  ores  are  highly  sulphuretted,  no  other 
treatment  than  that  of  simple  amalgamation  has  been  attempted  to 
our  knowledge.  The  yield  of  free  gold  from  these  ores  has  not 
been  more  than  20  to  33  per  cent,  of  their  assay  value,  as  already 
mentioned.  Chlorination  has  been  advised,  and  Mr.  Eames  has 
made  some  experiments  with  cyanide,  but  they  were  never  carried 
out  on  a working  scale.  It  is  more  than  probable  that  there  are 


OTHER  MINES  IN  CABARRUS  COUNTY. 


91 


still  good  ore  bodies  in  the  mines  ; certainly  a careful  examination 
is  warranted,  and  improvements  in  the  metallurgical  treatment 
are  suggested,  namely,  concentration  of  the  sulphurets,  after  battery 
amalgamation,  and  subsequent  treatment  by  a chlorination, 
cyanide  or  smelting  process. 

OTHER  MINES  IN  CABARRUS  COUNTY. 

The  Mauney  Mine  is  situated  about  l?  miles  southwest  of 
Gold  Hill,  on  the  opposite  side  (west)  of  Little  Buffalo  creek.  The 
strike  of  the  schists  is  M.  25°  E.,  and  the  dip  75°  1ST.  W.  They  are 
soft  and  contain  but  little  quartz.  The  ore-bearing  portion  is  con- 
sidered to  be  4 feet  in  width.  The  last  work  done  here  (Hov.,  1894), 
consisted  in  sinking  two  prospect  shafts  to  a depth  of  about  70 
feet.  The  soft  brown  ores,  above  the  water  level,  are  stated  to 
assay  from  82.00  to  86.00  per  ton. 

The  Isenhour  Mine  is  several  hundred  yards  S.  33°  W.  from  the 
Mauney,  and  the  conditions  are  practically  the  same,  though  there 
is  more  quartz  on  the  hanging  wall  side  of  the  deposit.  Work  on 
a petty  scale  has  been  prosecuted  at  this  mine  during  the  past- 
years,  the  ores  being  treated  in  a Howland  pulverizer,  the  blanket 
concentrates  from  which  are  washed  in  log  rockers  with  quicksilver. 

Among  other  mines  in  this  zone  of  metamorphic  schists,  lying 
to  the  southwest  of  the  Gold  Hill  region,  in  the  eastern  edge  of 
Cabarrus  county,  are:  the  Widenhouse,  Nugget  (or  Biggers),  Eva 
Furr,  Allen  Furr,  Buffalo,  and  Rocky  River,  all  situated  closely 
together,  and  from  10  to  12  miles  southeast  of  Concord,  the  county 
seat. 

The  Rocky  River  Mine  is  situated  10  miles  southeast  from 
Concord,  on  the  waters  of  Rocky  river.  The  country  rocks  are 
sericitic  and  chloritic  schists,  soft,  intermediate  and  highly  silici- 
fied.  The  strike  is  N.  20°  E.,  and  the  dip  (of  the  schistosity)  70° 
N.  W.  There  are  several  parallel  quartz  veins,  which  lie  appar- 
ently parallel  with  the  schistosity,  but  really  cut  it  at  slight  angles. 

The  last  work  at  this  mine  was  done  in  the  summer  of  1895,  by 
Mr.  Wayne  Darlington,  E.  M.,  who  prospected  the  property  for 
some  Philadelphia  capitalists. 

The  following  sketch  (fig.  4),  shows  the  position  of  the  veins  and 
the  location  of  the  principal  former  workings  : 


92 


GOLD  DEPOSITS  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


Fig.  4 — Topographic  Map  of  the  Rocky  River  Mine,  Cabarrus  Co..  N.  C.  (After  Survey  by 
Mr.  Wayne  Darlington,  E.  M.  Scale  1 inch=260  feet. 

Mr.  Darlington’s  explorations  were  concentrated  chiefly  on 
-shaft  17o.  1,  the  depth  of  which  is  130  feet,  the  total  length  of  the 
drifts  being  about,  200  feet.  The  strike  of  the  slates  is  17.  20°  E.; 
dip  70°  17.  W.  The  strike  of  the  vein  is  17.  30°  E.,  dip  85°  17.  TV. 

In  the  80  foot  level  the  quartz  was  from  11  inches  to  3 teet  in 
thickness  ; in  the  southwest  drift,  about  50  feet  from  the  shaft,  it 
was  pinched  to  a few  inches.  The  pitch  of  the  ore  shoots  is 
towards  the  southwest.  In  the  130  foot  level  the  vein  was  lost 
altogether. 

Cross  cuts  in  the  80  foot  level  have  exposed  several  small  par- 
allel veins  (10  inches  and  less  in  width). 

The  vein  matter  is  mainly  quartz,  with  some  carbonates,  proba- 
bly calcite.  The  quartz  carries  sulphurets,  chiefly  pyrite,  with 
some  galena,  blende,  and  chalcopyrite.  It  is  stated  that  about  50 


OTHER  HINES  IN  CABARRUS  COUNTY. 


93 


per  cent,  of  the  gold  in  the  ores  is  free  milling.  Apparently  there 
are  three  grades  of  ore  : (1)  Rich  in  galena  (which  carries  much 
of  the  gold),  a smelting  ore  ; (2)  Rich  in  pyrites,  an  ore  to  be 
treated  by  amalgamation  and  chlorination  ; (3)  Lean  ore. 

This  quartz  ore  from  shaft  Ro.  1 is  stated  to  run  about  $15  per 
ton,  the  richer  branches  of  sulphurets  going  as  high  as  $30. 

The  schists  themselves  are  impregnated  with  pyrites  and  small 
stringers  of  quartz.  In  the  neighborhood  of  the  larger  quartz 
veins  these  schists  are  stated  to  assay  about  $3.50  per  ton. 

At  shaft  No.  2 the  slates  are  more  chloritic  ; they  strike  R.  30° 
E.,  and  dip  70°  E.  W. 

In  shaft  Eo.  3 the  main  vein  is  stated  to  be  2 feet  thick,  and  in 
the  foot  wall  is  an  aggregate  of  narrow  veins  (respectively  8 to  10 
inches  thick)  comprising  together  a width  of  about  3 feet. 

In  shaft  Ro.  5 the  vein  is  stated  to  be  5 feet  thick. 

Assays  of  the  Rocky  River  mine  ores  show : 

Assays , Gold  Ores,  Rocky  River  Mine , Cabarrus  County. 

(96)  (97)  (98)  (99) 

Gold,  per  ton $ 5.17 $ 17.03 $ 36.85 $ 64.59 

Silver,  per  ton 1.04 trace 7.18 3.66 

$ 6.21  $ 17.05  $ 64.03  8 68.25 

The  recent  explorations  of  Mr.  Darlington  have  apparently 
shown  that  the  quartz  veins  themselves,  while  of  good  quality, 
cannot  be  depended  on  in  regularity  of  extent.  It  may  be  that 
similar  lenticular  shoots  exist  in  depth.  However  that  may  be, 
the  adjoining  schists  are  known  to  be  auriferous  for  some  distance 
from  the  quartz  veins,  and,  taken  together  with  the  quartz,  may 
make  large  bodies  of  low  grade  ore. 

If  the  mine  were  attacked  from  this  view  it  might  be  worked 
profitably. 

The  Buffalo  Mine  is  situated  one  mile  northeast  from  the 
Rocky  River.  The  slates  strike  R.  55°  E.,  and  dip  80°  to  85°  R.  W. 
The  main  vein  is  quartz,  5 feet  in  maximum  width.  The  slates 
have  been  cut  in  a shaft  and  crosscut  over  a width  of  about  25  feet, 
and  found  to  be  pyritic,  assaying  $3.50  per  ton  in  gold,  of  which 
about,  $1.00  is  free  gold. 

The  Allen  Furr  Mine  is  11  miles  southeast  of  Concord,  and 


94 


GOLD  DEPOSITS  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


near  the  Rocky  River.  The  ore  carries  a small  proportion  of 
galena  in  a gangue  of  massive  pyrite  ; occasionally  the  galena  occurs 
free  enough  to  constitute  a true  lead  ore.  But  it  is  doubtful  if  any 
considerable  amount  proves  so  rich  as  indicated  by  the  following 

assays : 

Assays , Gold  Ores , Allen  Furr  Mine , Cabarrus  Co. 

(100)  (101)  (102) 

Gold,  per  ton $ 5.17 $ 6 20 $ 21.81 

Silver,  per  ton 2.58 1.23 26.89 

$ 7.75  $ 7.43  $ 51.70 

Lead 34.18  per  cent. 

Zinc small  per  cent. 

The  great  size  of  the  lumps  of  ore  and  their  richness  in  pyrites 
had  attracted  some  attention  to  the  locality  as  a source  of  sulphur 
for  the  manufacture  of  sulphuric  acid,  but  later  examination  have 
not  borne  out  this  expectation. 

The  Nugget  or  (Biggers)  Mine  is  situated  12  miles  southeast 
of  Concord.  The  country  rock  is  argillaceous  slate,  which  is 
intersected  by  basic  dykes.  An  ancient  gravel  channel  of  sune 
extent  has  been  worked  here  for  the  past  two  years  by  hydraulick- 
ing.  The  gold  is  usually  quite  coarse  and  in  nuggets.  Some 
galena-bearing  quartz  veins  have  been  superficially  explored,  but 
never  developed. 

MINES  IN  UNION  COUNTY. 

These  mines  are  located  in  the  western  part  of  the  county.  The 
ores  are  readily  classified  into  auriferous  and  argentiferous  galena, 
auriferous  pyrite,  and  auriferous  schists;  but  sulphurets  are  never 
absent  from  the  latter.  Copper  ores  are  of  incidental  occurrence, 
but  are  not  known  to  be  present  in  quantity. 

The  Crowell  Mine  is  situated  about  14  miles  (air  line)  north 
of  Monroe,  in  the  extreme  northwestern  corner  of  the  county.  The 
vein  matter  is  cellular  quartz,  carrying  a little  galena,  some 
pyrite,  and  a trace  of  chalcopyrite. 

There  are  3 veins.  No.  1 strikes  N.  30°  E.,  and  dips  steeply  to 
the  northwest.  In  thickness  it  varies  from  1 to  4 feet.  The  old 
engine  shaft  is  80  feet  deep,  with  drifts  50  feet  northeast,  and  60 
feet  southwest. 


UNION  COUNTY MOORE  MINE. 


95 


Some  assays  show  the  following  results : 

Assays , Gold  and  Silver  Ores , Crowell  Mine , Union  County. 

(100)  (101)  (102)  (103)  (104)  (105)  (106)  (107)  (108) 

Gold,  per  ton $ 3.51....?  5.17....$  8.28....$  9.30....$  9.30....$  10.34.  $ 32.04....$  31.00....$  41.34 

Silver,  per  toil 9.95....  129....  3.46....  3 42....  10.21. ...  3.55  32...  55  34...  4.85 

$13.46  $ 6 46  $11.74  $12.72  $19.51  $ 13.89  $ 32.36  $ 86  34  $ 46.19 

The  middle  vein  is  1,000  feet  east  of  and  parallel  to  No.  2,  but 
it  is  narrower. 

Vein  No.  2 is  1,500  feet  still  further  east;  it  varies  from  2J  to 
4 feet  in  width  ; its  dip  is  from  40°  to  45°  northwest. 

The  Long  Mine  is  f mile  southwest  of  the  Crowell,  and  appar- 
ently in  line  with  the  easternmost  or  No.  2 Crowell  vein.  The 
strike  is  N.  50°  E.,  and  dip  85°  N.  W.  The  vein  matter  is  quartz 
and  schist  which  carry  p'yrite,  with  some  galena,  sphalerite  and 
chalcopyrite.  Calcite  and  siderite  occur  as  gangue  minerals. 
The  thickness  of  the  vein  is  reported  to  be  30  inches  to  4 feet. 

The  Moore  Mine  is  3 miles  southeast  of  the  Long.  The  coun- 
try rock  is  chlorite  schist,  which  strikes  N.  50°  E.,and  dips  steeply 
to  the  northwest. 

The  mine  has  been  opened  b}T  a shaft  80  feet  in  depth,  but  is 
now  inaccessible.  The  former  superintendent,  Mr.  E.  J.  Wentz, 
states  that  the  ore  body  consists  of  a quartz  vein  5 feet  in  thick- 
ness, approximately  conformable  to  the  schistosity  of  the  country 
rock  ; and  that  a four-inch  paystreak,  composed  mainly  of  calcite 
carrying  free  gold,  follows  the  hanging  wall. 

The  quartz  carries  pyrite,  chalcopyrite, 
galena  and  much  blende.  These  sulphur- 
ets  also  extend  into  the  wall  rock.  The 
schists  are  intersected  by  narrow  seams 
(s  inch)  of  calcite. 

Specimens  were  found  on  the  dump 
showing  fragments  of  the  country  schist, 
highly  silicified,  imbedded  in  the  vein 
matter,  in  both  of  which  are  contained 
small  crystals  of  the  sulphureis  (fig.  5). 
Hence  the  quartz  veins  were  formed  in 
openings  in  the  schist,  the  whole  mass 
becoming  at  the  same  time  mineralized. 


1:~..°-1  Galena , Copper  & Iron  , 
Pyrites  . 

Fig.  5,  Showing-  fragments  of 
schistinvein  matter,  both  con- 
taining sulphurets. 

7 . 


96 


GOLD  DEPOSITS  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


Other  specimens  were  found  showing  fissures  in  the  silicified 
schist  containing  quartz,  well  crytallized  along  the  walls,  and  pro- 
truding at  right  angles  to  the  same;  the  interior  being  filled  with  fine 
granular  calcite,  and  some  well  crystallized  calcite  rhombohedrons. 
Small  specks  of  a light  brown  mineral,  probably  siderite,  are  dis- 
tributed in  the  calcite  and  against  the  quartz.  The  quartz  con 
tains  crystals  of  chaleopyrite.  (See  Fig.  1,  page  50.)  This  shows 
that  quartz  was  crystallized  first  around  chaleopyrite,  and  then 
siderite,  followed  by  calcite.  Assays  of  these  ores  give  the  fol- 
lowing results : 

Assays,  Gold  Ores , Moore  Mine , Union  County. 


(112) 

(113) 

(114) 

Gold,  per  ton 

$ 8.27 

$ 20.67 

$ 124.02 

1.52 

2.33 

..  116.86 

$9.79 

$23.00 

$240.88 

The  Stewart  Mine  is  situated  II  miles  southwest  of  the  Moore, 
on  Goose  creek.  The  country  rocks  are  argillaceous  and  sericitie 
schists.  Their  strike  is  1ST.  55°  E.,  and  dip  85°  N.  W.  These 
•schists  vary  from  soft  to  semi-silicified  types,  and  at  times  show 
handing  at  angles  to  the  schistosity.  The  ore  bodies  consist  of 
certain  belts  of  the  country  rock,  impregnated  with  auriferous 
quartz  stringers  and  sulphurets  (pyrite  and  some  galena).  There 
are  three  such  parallel  ore  belts,  the  Asbury,  Miller,  and  Jake. 
The  Asbury  is  farthest  southeast,  and  is  reported  to  be  from  J to 
18  inches  wide.  It  has  been  explored  by  a shaft  SO  feet  in  depth. 
The  Miller  is  15  feet  northwest  from  the  Asbury,  and  is  reported 
to  be  5 ft.  wide.  It  has  been  explored  by  a shaft  185  ft.  deep, 
from  the  bottom  of  which  drifts  extend  100  ft.  southwest  and  30 
ft.  northeast,  stoped  to  within  20  ft.  of  the  surface.  A cross  cut 
runs  from  this  shaft  to  the  Jake  vein,”  6 ft.  northwest,  which 
has  been  drifted  on  50  ft.  southwest  and  stoped  to  within  20  ft. 
of  the  surface.  • 

In  general,  the  seams  of  ore  are  narrow,  but  there  are  many  of 
them  ; and  it  may  be  questioned  whether  the  whole  series  is  not 
one  and  the  same  ore  belt,  with  several  productive  channels. 
There  are  also  two  heavy  quartz  veins  near  the  Miller  and  Jake 
veins,  one  of  them  12  feet  wide,  but  externally  not  promising. 


UNION  COUNTY STEWART  AND  LEMMONBS  MINES. 


97 


A ten  stamp  mill  stands  on  the  property,  and  when  visited  (Hov., 
1894,)  was  being  operated  under  extremely  adverse  conditions  on 
material  from  the  old  mine  dump,  consisting  of  soft,  brown  gossan 
ores,  which  was  reported  to  yield  $13  per  ton. 

Assays  of  ores  containing,  galena  show  : 

Assays , Ores  from  Stewart  Mine , Union  County. 


(115) 

(116) 

(117) 

(118) 

(119) 

(120) 

(1211 

Gold  per  ton,  $ 3.10 

Silver  “ 14.09 

$ 8.27 

$33.07 

....$41.34 

$41.34 

$44.44 

....$219.10 

93 

5.71 

....  6.59 

....  4.01 

....  5. 75 

....  5.68 

$17.19 

$9.20 

$38.78 

$47.93 

$45.35 

$50.19 

$224.78 

The  lead  was  not  determined,  hut  enough  was  present  to  form  a desirable  constituent 
in  smelting. 

Other  assays  from  this  mine  show  : 

Assays,  Ores  from  Stewart  Mine,  Union  County. 

(122)  (123)  (124) 

Gold,  per  ton $5.17 $12.40 $20.15 

Silver,  “ 91 04 25 

$6.08  $12.44  $20.40 

The  future  of  the  mine  will  probably  depend  on  the  possibility 
of  working  comparatively  low  grade  ores,  and  of  concentrating 
the  sulphurets  for  subsequent  metallurgical  treatment.  A very 
rich  shoot  of  ore  was  found,  but  it  was  subsequently  lost,  and  a 
great  deal  of  costly  work  has  been  expended  in  searching  for  it. 

The  Lemmonds  (or  Marion)  Mine  is  a southern  extension  of  the 
Stewart.  Prof.  F.  A.  Genth,  who  had  the  opportunity  of  exam- 
ining the  underground  work  at  this  mine,  describes  the  vein  as 
follows  : “ Irregular  in  size,  sometimes  widening  out  from  a few 
inches  to  6 feet.  It  consists  of  quartz  richly  charged  with  brown 
zinc  blende  and  galenite,  with  small  quantities  of  arsenopyrite, 
chalcopyrite,  etc.” 

A pure  specimen  of  galenite  which  did  not  show  any  free  gold 
(assay  Ho.  125),  and  one  of  brown  zinc  blende  (assay  Ho.  126), 
were  assayed  by  Genth,  with  the  following  results  : 

Assays,  Ore  from  the  Lemmond's  Mine,  Union  County. 

(125)  (126) 

Gold,  per  ton, $620.10 $330.72 

Silver,  ’*  111.84 20.69 

$731.94  $351.41 

A more  recent  assay  of  a probably  more  nearly  average  sam- 
ple of  ore  from  the  same  mine  shows  : 

Assay  of  Ore,  Lemmond's  Mine,  Union  County. 


(127) 

Gold,  per  ton $3.10 

Silver,  “ 6.80 


$9.90 


98 


GOLD  DEPOSITS  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


The  New  South  Mine  is  1J  miles  northeast  from  the  Stewart. 
The  work  down  to  25  feet  wTas  satisfactory  and  profitable.  The 
slates  are  laminated  and  thoroughly  altered,  blit  at  that  depth 
the  alterations  nearly  ceased,  and  the  “blue  slates”  came  in,  i.  e.r 
drab  colored  slates  with  disseminated  pyrites.  In  the  miners’ 
parlance  the  gold  “ went  out,”  which  is  merely  a practical  obser- 
vation that  the  gold  could  not  be  profitably  extracted  by  the  ordi- 
nary way  of  milling  or  panning. 

The  Crump  Mine  is  situated  2?  miles  southeast  of  the  Stewart 
in  Yance  township.  It  has  been  worked  for  a length  of  300  yards 
and  was  entered  by  three  shafts.  The  vein  matter  (slates  with 
some  quartz  and  a little  disseminated  pyrites)  was  examined,  and 
the  very  best  and  most  promising  sample  of  the  supposed  worka- 
ble ore  assayed  with  the  following  result  : 

Assay , Gold  Ore , Crump  Mine , Union  County. 


(128) 

Gold,  per  ton $6.41 

Silver,  “ trace 


$6.11 

This  would  indicate  very  low  grade  ore  for  the  general  run  of 
the  mine,  but  it  is  noted  for  its  remarkable  pockets,  and  splendid 
and  peculiar  nuggets,  in  which  nearly  all  the  gold  occurs. 

The  Butterfield  Mine  is  150  yards  to  the  northwest  of  the 
Crump.  It  has  been  worked  to  a depth  of  75  feet.  The  quartz 
carries  copper  and  iron  pyrites. 

There  are  a number  of  mines  in  the  vicinity  of  Indian  Trail 
station  on  the  Carolina  Central  railroad. 

They  are  apparently  located  in  two  parallel  series  about  mile 
apart,  comprising  in  the  first  or  western  group  the  Henry  Phifer 
and  Fox  Hill  mines,  and  in  the  second  or  eastern  the  Black,  Smart,. 
Secrest  and  Thomas  Hemby  mines. 

The  strike  of  the  schists  is  about  N.  30°  E.,  and  the  dip  nearly 
vertical. 

The  Henry  Phifer  Mine  is  l mile  north  of  Indian  Trail.  The 
property  comprises  a long  and  narrow  tract  of  2,000  feet.  The 
veins  are  stated  to  have  been  productive,  but  no  record  ot  the 
work  is  now  at  hand. 


UNION  COUNTY BLACK  AND  SMART  MINES. 


99 


The  Fox  Hill  Mine  is  one  mile  northeast  of  the  Henry  Phifer. 
The  remnant  of  the  vein  could  recently  be  seen  in  the  walls  of 
the  shaft,  and  appeared  to  be  6 to  10  inches  in  width,  consisting 
of  quartz,  brown  ore  and  iron  pyrites.  It  has  been  sunk  upon  to 
a depth  of  40  feet.  The  slates  strike  nearly  north  and  south 
where  observed,  and  dip  slightly  eastward. 

The  Black  Mine  is  £ mile  nearly  east  from  Indian  Trail.  There 
are  two  veins,  or  two  seams  of  one  and  the  same  vein,  only  one  of 
which  could  be  examined.  It  was  filled  with  quartz,  and  varied 
from  10  to  30  inches  in  width,  so  far  as  could  be  seen,  although 
the  full  width  is  reported  to  be  4 feet,  with  rich  seams  of  mineral 
matter  from  ten  inches  in  thickness  down  to  a mere  seam.  The 
strike  is  a little  east  of  north,  and  the  dip  slightly  eastward.  A 
cross  vein  is  also  reported.  The  mineral  matter  of  the  rich 
.seams  is  of  high  grade  as  shown  by  the  following  line  of  assays. 
It  consists  of  galena,  with  very  little  blende,  and  iron  and  copper 
pyrites  : 

Assays , Gold  Ores,  Black  Mine,  Union  County. 

Free  milling  Sulphurets. 

(129)  (180)  (131)  (182)  (133) 

Gold,  per  ton $ 10.33 $ 60.97 $ 98.19 $ 117.82 $ 165.36 

Silver,  per  ton 45 2.33 3.75 06  3.81 

$ 10.78  $ 63.30  $101.94  $ 117.88  $ 169.17 

Assays  of  Galenas,  Black  Mine. 

(134)  (135) 

Gold,  per  ton $ 42.37 $ 41.34 

Silver,  per  ton 5.56 8.14 

$ 47.93  $ 49.48 

The  mine  workings  consist  of  a shaft  60  feet  deep,  from  the 
bottom  of  which  a drift  extends  30  feet  north  and  40  feet  south. 

The  Smart  Mine  is  one  mile  N.  30°  E.  from  the  Black.  The 
country  rock  is  sericite  schist,  in  part  highly  silicified,  which 
strikes  FT.  30°  to  40°  E.,  and  stands  nearly  vertical.  The  ore  is 
galena  with  pyrite  in  a matrix  of  quartz  ; it  had  been  found  in 
some  quantity,  but  the  last  work  in  1888  dhl  not  uncover  so  large 
a quantity  as  was  expected.  The  ore  body  has  been  proved  to  a 
depth  of  110  feet,  and  three  levels  at  35,  60  and  95  feet  respectively 
have  been  run,  each  of  which  is  about  60  feet  in  length.  The 


i 


100 


GOLD  DEPOSITS  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


vein  is  at  times  3 to  1 feet  thick,  but  the  width  of  the  ore  seam  is 
considerably  less.  Assays  show  the  following  values: 

Assays , Gold  Ores , Smart  Mine , Union  County. 

(136)  (137)  (138) 

Gold,  per  ton $ 13.40 8 13.44 $ 46.51 

Silver,  per  ton 3.94 3.07 5.95 

$ 16.34  $ 15.51  $ 52.46 

The  Secrest  Mine  is  \ mile  northeast  of  the  Smart.  The  schists 
are  argillaceous  to  chloritic,  striking IST.  30°  to35°E.,  and  dipping 
slightly  westward.  No  reliable  information  is  available  respect- 
ing its  resources.  There  is  another  mineral  occurrence  on  the 
Secrest  property,  i mile  west  of  the  above  locality,  namely,  a 
northeast  and  southwest  running  vein  (N.  35°  E.,  with  steep 
westerly  dip),  with  an  8-inch  seam  of  biown  ore;  and  running 
from  it  in  a westerly  direction  with  steep  northerly  dip  is  a quartz 
vein,  carrying  galena  and  chalcopyrite,  and  varying  in  width  from 
2 to  12  inches. 

Assays  of  ores  from  this  mine  give  the  following  results  : 

Assays,  Gold  Ores , Secrest  Mine , Union  County. 

(139)  (140) 

Gold,  per  ton $ 3.07 $ 67.18 

Silver,  per  ton 16.73 5.04 

$ 18.80 $ 73.23 

No.  139.  From  northeast  and  southwest  vein.  No.  140.  From  east  and  west  vein. 

About  2 miles  north  of  Indian  Trail,  on  the  road  from  the  Smart 
to  the  Stewart  mine,  a heavy  debris  of  a felsitic  eruptive  rock 
occurs.  It  was  not  found  in  place. 

THE  MOORE  HILL,  FOLGER  HILL,  DAVIS,  PHIFER,  LEWIS,  HEMBY 

GROUP  OF  MINES. 

About  2 miles  south  of  Indian  Trail  is  situated  a group  of  mines, 
comprising  the  Moore  Hill,  Folger  Hill,  Davis,  Phifer,  Lewis, 
Hemby  and  Harkness.1  The  relative  position  of  these  mines  is 
shown  in  the  accompanying  sketch  map  (Fig.  6).t 


Geological  Report  of  the  Midland  Counties  of  North  Carolina,  1856.  E.  Emmons,  p.  167. 


UNION  COUNTY MOORE  HILL  AND  OTHER  MINES. 


101 


This  zone  of  auriferous 
schists  is  3 miles  in  length 
and  not  much  less  than  one- 
half  mile  in  width,  some 
parts  of  which  are  capable 
of  being  operated,  and  some 
parts  not,  but  none  abso- 
lutely barren. 

Occasional  pits  both  to 
the  east  and  west  of  the 
line  of  work  indicate  that 
the  zone  is  in  reality  much 
wider,  but  not  commercially 
workable,  so  far  as  yet  pros- 
pected. Beyond  the  Hem- 
by  and  Harkness,  immedi- 
ately to  the  northeast,  little 
has  been  found,  and  the  loca- 
tion of  the  “Big  Survey” 
lands  have  prevented  pros- 

yj.  IJJCliJJ  OUOVVlllg  1 CltX  live  JLUUil  L1U11 5> 

Union  county PMfer’  Lewls’  fIemt>Y  etc.,  mines,  pectillg  to  the  Southwest. 

Scale  of  longitudinal  distances:  3 inclies=l  mile.  uA),  „ rh'stnrmp  nf  nearlv 

The  transverse  distances  are  slightly  exaggerated.  1 Ol  a umianoe  oi  neaiiy 

two  miles  there  is  an  almost 

unbroken  series  of  pits  and  shallow  shafts.  This  vast  number 

of  diggings  is  the  result  of  petty  leases  (which  will  also  account 

in  great  part  for  the  shallowness  of  the  pits),  and  incidentally 


Fig.  6.  Sketch  map  showing  relative  locations 


value  of  the  deposits,  which 


have  been 
Mint  Hill 
deep,  was 
alone  the 


bears  witness  to  the 

very  rich,  especially  on  the  Phifer  tract,  where  on 
an  open  cut,  100  feet  in  diameter  and  50  feet 
worked  out.  Petty  work  is  constantly  going  on 
whole  line,  but  none  of  the  mines  are  being  systematically  operated. 

The  country  rock  is  an  argillaceous  schist,  which  strikes  H.  20° 
to  4:5 ° E.,  and  stands  nearly  vertical,  dipping  slightly  easterly  in 
some  places  and  westerly  in  others,  the  latter  prevailing.  These 
schists  vary  from  soft  to  very  highly  silicified  types.  They  are 
impregnated  with  finely  divided  iron  pyrites  up  to  1 or  2 per  cent.; 
small  lenses  of  pyrite  and  calcite  also  occur  ; and  quartz  stringers 
are  frequent. 


102 


GOLD  DEPOSITS  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


The  occurrence  of  diabasitic  dikes  has  been  noticed  at  the 
Phifer,  Hemby  and  Harkness  mines. 

The  gold  is  not  uniformly  diffused,  but  is  carried  mostly  in 
narrow,  parallel  seams,  rarely  more  than  an  inch  or  two  thick,  and 
sometimes  not  thicker  than  a knife  blade  ; the  seams  are  quite 
porous  and  discolored  with  peroxide  of  iron  and  oxide  of  mangan- 
ese above  the  water  level. 

The  ore  bodies  as  a whole  are  1 to  6 feet  wide,  in  which  these 
seams  occur  abundantly  and  closely  together.  And  the  barren 
ground  is  that  portion  in  which  these  seams  are  of  infrequent 
occurrence. 

A glance  at  the  sketch  map  (Fig.  6)  shows  that  these  workable 
belts  are  frequently  not  continuous  in  length.  A new  belt,  lying 
parallel  to  the  first  may  appear ; or,  after  a short  unproductive 
interval,  the  same  belt  may  reappear. 

The  softness  of  the  schists  above  the  water  line  permits  of  easy 
and  cheap  work  to  this  depth  (40  to  50  feet)  ; hence  the  innum- 
erable shallow  pits;  but  below  this  line  the  costly  and  more  diffi- 
cult nature  of  the  work  and  the  occurrence  of  sulphurets  renders 
mining  and  milling  more  difficult,  so  that  the  ore  bodies  below 
this  depth  are  still  largely  intact. 

The  Moore  Hill  tract  has  been  worked  100  feet  in  length,  and 
at  the  most  70  feet  in  depth. 

The  Davis  has  been  worked  fully  500  feet  in  length,  and  to  a 
maximum  depth  of  150  feet  in  the  “ Road”  shaft. 

Folger  Hill  has  been  worked  some  300  to  400  feet  in  length. 
Random  samples  of  rejected  ore  from  the  surface  gave  : 

Assay , Rejected  Gold  Ore , Folger  Hill , Union  County. 

(141) 

Gold,  per  ton $4.13 

Silver,  per  ton 22 

Total $4.35 

The  Phifer  (or  Price)  Mine  is  situated  in  a belt  at  least  100 
feet  west  of  the  Davis,  and  has  been  worked  for  a length  of  400 
feet  and  to  a depth  of  100  feet.  Yery  rich  stringers  have  been 
found  here.  Mint  Hill  is  a fine  illustration,  for  so  abundant  and 
rich  were  the  stringers  that  the  whole  material  for  100  feet  in 
each  direction  and  80  feet  in  depth  was  taken  out  and  milled. 


UNION  COUNTY BONNIE  BELLE  AND  HOWIE  GROUP. 


103 


At  Ore  Hill  a system  of  cross  fissures  (strike  S.  33°  E.;  dip  57° 
N.  E.)  occurs,  which  has  been  worked  to  a depth  of  80  feet. 

The  Lewis  Mine  has  been  worked  nearly  1,000  feet  in  length 
and  to  a depth,  in  places,  of  80  feet. 

The  fineness  of  the  gold  at  the  above  described  mines  is  of  low 
grade.  The  Davis  gold  is  sometimes  not  worth  more  than  35 
cents  per  dwt.,  and  little  of  the  gold  will  exceed  75  cents.  More- 
over, the  occurrence  of  stringers  near  each  other  with  gold  of 
quite  varying  values  points  to  dissimilar  conditions  of  original 
deposition.  Galena  in  sparing  quantity  occurs  at  times. 

East  Hill,  lying  to  the  northeast  of  the  Lewis,  has  apparently  a 
position  to  the  east  of  the  extension  of  the  Lewis  belt.  It  carries 
a great  deal  of  heavy  quartz. 

The  Hemby  Mine  appears  to  lie  slightly  to  the  west  of  the 
Lewis  and  Phifer  lead.  The  shallow  workings  extend  for  a dis- 
tance of  1,200  to  1,500  feet  along  the  strike.  There  aie  two 
shafts  here  over  100  feet  in  depth.  The  old  mine  dumps  show 
much  solid,  glassy  quartz.  Siderite  occurs  as  a gangue  mineral. 

Several  non-parallel  bodies  exist  on  the  property.  Samples 
from  some  lecently  exposed,  but  ordinary  looking  seams  of  ore 
assayed  : 

Assays,  Gold  Ores,  Hemby  Mine , Union  County. 

(143)  (143) 

Gold,  per  ton $3.10 $15.71 

Silver,  per  ton 21 86 

Total $3.31  $16.57 

The  Harkness  Mine  is  1J  miles  northeast  of  East  Hill,  and 
from  its  position  and  the  nature  of  the  ore  (heavy  quartz)  it  ap- 
pears to  be  a continuation  of  the  latter.  It  has  been  worked  for 
a lefigth  of  300  feet,  and  to  a reported  depth  of  120  feet.  The 
strike  is  N.  20°— 25°  E.  The  ores,  so  far  as  they  could  be  ex- 
amined, are  very  quartzose,  containing  coarse  gold  of  relatively 
high  grade. 

THE  BONNIE  BELLE  AND  HOWIE  GROUP. 

A group  of  mines  of  some  importance,  consisting  of  the  Bonnie 
Belle  and  Howie,  is  situated  some  6 miles  south  of  the  Davis, 
Phifer,  Lewis,  etc.,  group,  and  about  eight  miles  west  of  Monroe. 


104 


GOLD  DEPOSITS  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


The  Bonnie  Belle  (or  Washington)  Mine  is  1\  miles  north  of 
Potter’s  Station,  on  the  Georgia,  Carolina  and  Northern  B.  B. 

The  country  rock  is  argillaceous  schist,  varying  in  degree  of 
hardness  from  soft  to  highly  silicified.  The  strike  is  X.  55°  E., 
and  the  dip  steeply  westward.  At  one  point  an  obscure  outcrop 
of  mica  gneiss  was  observed.  The  schists  show  banding  both  with 
and  across  the  schistcsity,  pointing  to  their  sedimentary  origin. 

A diabasitic  dike  intersects  the  country  nearly  at  right  angles  : 
it  is  reported  to  be  10  feet  in  thickness,  dipping  40°  to  45°  S.  W. 
The  schists  are  impregnated  with  finely  divided  sulphurets,  chiefly 
pyrite  and  some  little  chalcopyrite.  Small  specks  of  free  gold 
occur  as  coatings  on  the  major  cleavage  planes.  Very  small 
quartz  veinlets  intersect  the  schists  at  various  angles.  The  gen- 
eral width  of  the  ore  bearing  belt  is  stated  to  be  14  feet,  and  it 
has  been  proven  over  a distance  of  at  least  I mile  along  the 
strike,  besides  being  traced  much  farther  by  pan  tests.  There  are 
also  indications  of  other  parallel  ore  bodies  but  these  have  not  yet 
been  prospected.  When  visited,  in  the  fall  of  1894,  the  mine  was 
being  operated  experimentally,  and  the  ore  treated  in  a combina- 
tion Chilian  and  four  dragmills,  which  discharged  on  amalgamated 
copper  plates,  and  thence  to  a Gilpin  county  bumping  table  for 
concentration.  The  capacity  of  the  mill  was  10  tons  per  24 
hours. 

The  shaft  from  which  the  ore  was  raised  is  located  near  the 
mill.  If  was  about  20  feet  deep  at  the  time  when  visited.  The 
thickness  of  the  ore  body  in  this  shaft  was  from  5 to  8 feet,  the 
richer  portion  lying  in  the  2 feet  adjoining  the  hanging  wall. 
Samples  of  the  ore  were  taken  from  the  crusher  at  the  mill,  also 
of  the  concentrates  and  tailings,  and  the  assays  by  Dr.  Clias.  Bas- 
kerville  show  : 


Assays , Bonnie  Bell 
Ore. 


(114) 

Gold,  per  ton $4.18. 

Silver,  “ 1.42 


$5.55 

The  Howie  Mine1  is  situated 


Mine,  Union  County. 


Concentrates.  Tailings. 

(145)  '(146) 

$20.67 trace 

1 94 $ 1.03 

$22.61  $1 03 


about  1 mile  south  of  west  from 


1 Geological  Report  ol  the  Midland  Counties  of  North  Carolina.  1S56.  E.  Emmons:  p.  133. 


UNION  COUNTY BONNIE  BELLE  AND  HOWIE  GROUP. 


105- 


the  Bonnie  Belle.  The  country  rock  is  a dark  colored  argillace- 
ous slate  usually  highly  silicified.  The  strike  is  hi.  55°  E.,  with  a 
very  steep  dip  to  the  northwest. 

The  ore  bearing  formation  is  said  to  extend  over  a width  of  400 
feet,  and  fully  a mile  in  length.  Within  this  belt  there  are  per- 
haps as  many  as  8 so  called  “veins”  or  ore  seams,  varying  from  18 
inches  to  16  feet  in  width.  It  is  difficult,  however,  to  say  where 
“ vein  ” matter  is  not  found,  as  the  rocks  of  the  entire  region  are 
gold  bearing.  The  mine  stuff  rarely  shows  by  its  external  appear- 
ance what  material  is  and  what  is  not  rich  enough  for  remunera- 
tive work,  and  this  is  determined  by  constant  tests. 

Pvrite  to  the  extent  of  about  one  (1)  per  cent,  is  widely  dissem- 
inated, and  occurs  somewhat  more  abundantly  on  the  cleavage  faces 
and  joints  of  the  slates.  The  slates  are  penetrated  by  numerous 
seams  of  quartz,  which  generally  have  the  effect  of  enriching  the 
ore  body.  Free  gold  occurs  as  line  films  on  the  cleavage  and 
joint  planes  of  the  slates. 

Cross-fissures  occur  in  the  mine,  filled  with  a “reibungs-breccia” 
of  slate  fragments  cemented  by  pure  white  crystalline  calcite. 
Small  calcite  veinlets  penetrate  the  slates  in  various  directions. 

Diabase  dikes  are  of  frequent  occurrence  ; they  strike  in  a north- 
west direction  across  the  slates.  It  is  stated  that  the  ore  is  richer 
in  the  vicinity  of  these  dikes.  The  mine  is  inaccessible,  but  as 
the  rock  is  extremely  hard  most  of  the  shafts,  although  filled  with 
water,  are  still  intact.  The  deepest  shaft  was  the  Cureton,  300 
feet  deep. 

The  ore,  as  might  be  supposed,  runs  through  a wide  range  of 
values.  The  former  superintendent,  Mr.  I.  Bates,  reported  that 
the  average  ore  will  yield  in  the  mill  about  $13.00  per  ton.  The 
average  of  12  assays  of  the  “soft”  ore  (above  water  level)  by  Prof. 
Spears,  of  blew  York,  gave  for  the  gold  and  silver  contents  a value 
of  $14.60  per  ton;  and  the  rubbish  piles  were  shown  by  him  to 
carry  $3.25  per  ton.  An  examination  of  various  tailing  dumps 
showed  that  a surprising  amount  of  gold  was  lost  in  the  mill  work. 


106 


GOLD  DEPOSITS  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


As  already  mentioned  on  p 36,  the  Monroe  slates  are  intersected 
by  quartz  fissure  veins.  These  veins  are  in  instances  auriferous, 
and  at  several  points  a short  distance  west  of  Monroe,  prospects  of 
gold  have  been  discovered  and  superficial  explorations  made,  hut 
presumably  without  much  success,  as  they  were  never  pursued  to 
any  extent  and  are  now  abandoned. 

ANSON  COUNTY. 

The  Hamilton  (Bailey)  Mine  is  situated  2 miles  southeast  of 
Wadesboro.  There  are  two  quartz  veins  of  which  the  westerly 
was  formerly  worked  to  a depth  of  100  feet;  it  is  stated  to  he  ,2£ 
to  4 feet  in  thickness.  Assays  have  shown  variable  values  from 
$4.00  to  $30.00  per  ton. 

The  Jesse  Cox  mine  is  in  the  same  vicinity. 


10T 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE  CAROLINA  IGNEOUS  BELT  AND  ITS  GOLD  DEPOSITS. 

GENERAL  DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  BELT. 

The  Carolina  Slate  Belt  is  bounded  on  the  west  by  an  area  of 
massive,  igneous,  plutonic  rocks,  extending  across  the  State  in  a 
southwesterly  direction,  and  having  a width  of  15  to  30  miles. 
This  is  the  Carolina  Igneous  Belt-  of  gold  bearing  rocks.  It 
includes  the  greater  portion  of  the  counties  of  Guilford,  Davidson, 
Rowan,  Cabarrus,  and  practically  the  whole  of  Mecklenburg. 
The  area  of  the  auriferous  portion,  however,  is  scarcely  more 
than  1,000  square  miles.  At  the  northeast,  in  Guilford  county, 
the  mines  occur  near  the  southeast  edge  of  the  belt,  and  near  the 
schists  ; this  relative  position  they  hold  as  far  south  as  Rowan 
county,  where  they  begin  to  appear  at  a considerably  greater  dis- 
tance from  this  border,  and  finally  in  Mecklenburg  county,  near 
the  southern  boundary  of  the  State,  they  stretch  nearly  across  the 
entire  area  of  igneous  rocks  from  east  to  west.  It  may  be  said, 
with  almost  absolute  accuracy,  that  the  mines  are  on  the  east  side 
of  the  main  line  of  the  Southern  Railroad  to  a point  little  further 
south  than  Concord,  where  the  mineral  belt  crosses  the  railroad 
abruptly  and  spreads  to  the  westward. 

GEOLOGIC  CHARACTERISTICS. 

The  rocks  are,  so  far  as  macroscopic  determinations  go,  gran- 
itic, dioritic,  gabbroitic,  and  diabasic  eruptives,  sometimes  passing 
into  each  other  by  gradual  transition  phases.  Schistose  or  gneissic 
structure  is  developed  in  places,  as  in  the  vicinity  of  Lexington, 
Davidson  county,  where  the  strike  is  N.  20°  E.,  and  the  dip,  as  a 
rule  steeply  westward. 

From  the  nature  of  the  contact,  it  appears  that  the  age  of  this 
igneous  mass  is  younger  than  the  slates  and  schists  of  the  Carolina 
Slate  Belt  on  the  east. 

Diabasic  and  granitic  dikes  again  intersect  the  main  igueous 
mass,  and  are  therefore  still  later  intrusions.  These  dikes  are- 


108 


GOLD  DEPOSITS  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


sometimes  indistinctly  schistose  in  the  same  direction  as  the 
schistosity  of  the  enclosing  rock,  where  such  is  developed,  which 
would  indicate  that  they  were  intruded  before  the  force  produc- 
ing schistose  structure  was  active.  Furthermore  they  are  often 
finer  grained  towards  the  edges  than  in  the  centre.  In  places 
they  split,  sending  off  cross-dikes.  But  as  a rule  they  are  more 
regular  in  outline,  and  in  width  may  vary  from  a few  inches  to 
many  feet. 

The  auriferous  quartz  veins,  which  are  found  in  these  rocks,  are 
the  fillings  of  fissures.  These  fissures,  particularly  where  they 
occur  within  a more  or  less  homogeneous  mass,  are  quite  regular 
in  outline,  as  at  the  Reed,  Phrnnix  and  Reimer  mines.  On  the 
other  hand,  in  some  instances,  they  appear  as  pocketed  or  lenticu- 
lar bodies,  as  at  the  Surface  Hill  mine,  along  the  contact  of  a 
diabase  dike  with  the  granite.  In  still  other  places  the  quartz 
veins  are  confined  to  the  diabase,  as  at-the  Phoenix  mine. 

If  this  diabase  is  in  itself  the  filling  of  a dike  fissure  the  age  of 
the  gold  veins  must  be  subsequent  to  the  dike  formation,  a fact 
which  does  not  agree  with  that  found  to  exist  in  the  Carolina  Slate 
Belt,  where  the  diabase  dikes  intersect  the  ore  bodies.  And  it 
would  thus  appear  that  there  were  two  eras  of  dike  formations. 
However,  the  true  relations  of  the  rocks  could  not  actually  be 
determined  at  the  Phoenix,  as  the  mine  was  inaccessible,  and  the 
rocks  could  not  even  be  seen  in  place.  In  fact,  the  diabase  dikes 
in  Horth  Carolina  might  even  be  referred  to  three  ages,  including 
those  which  are  found  in  the  Jura-Trias,  and  which  must  hence 
be  post  J ura-Triassic.  These  are,  however,  but  suggestions  which 
are  subject  to  modification  on  further  research.  They  simply 
present  a line  for  investigation. 

THE  ORE  DEPOSITS  OP  THE  CAROLINA  IGNEOUS  BELT. 

It  seems  clear  that  the  genesis  of  the  gold  ores  in  these  igneous 
rocks  must  be  ascribed  to  the  ascension  of  mineralized  waters. 

These  gold  ores  are  often  cupriferous;  they  rarely  contain  any 
notable  amount  of  lead,  zinc,  or  nickel  ; the  silver  present  is 
usually  alloyed  with  the  gold ; arsenic  and  antimony  are  not  com- 


THE  CAROLINA  IGNEOUS  BELT. 


109 


moil,  and  the  ores  are  refractory  only  as  the  sulphurets  make 
them  so. 

The  chief  filling  of  the  fissures  is  quartz,  carrying  the  auriferous 
sulphurets.  Frequently  a finely  laminated  argillaceous  oi  chloritic 
slate  is  noticed  in  the  filling,  parallel  to  the  Trails  of  the  veins;  it 
is  sometimes  within  the  quartz  itself  but,  but  generally  nearer  the 
walls,  shading  gradually  into  the  country.  The  presence  of  these 
slates  in  a vein,  where  there  is  at  best  but  slight  development  of 
schistosity  in  the  enclosing  country  rock,  is  an  interesting  phe- 
nomenon. In  depth  the  slaty  structure  does  not  exist,  or  becomes 
obscured. 

In  many  mines  there  is  what  is  called  a back  and  a front  vein 
(occasionally  a middle  vein  also),  but  all  evidence  goes  to  show 
that  they  are  but  parts  of  the  same  vein. 

The  quartz  frequently  shows  a banded  structure,  especially 
near  the  walls  ; and  there  is  often  a parallelism  in  the  occurrence 
of  the  sulphurets. 

The  frequent  cupriferous  nature  of  the  ore  in  this  belt  has 
been  alluded  to.  The  copper  ores,  unless  they  were  of  such 
exceptional  richness  as  to  bear  costly  land  transportation, 
had  no  market,  and  the  time  came  when  the  price  of  copper  fell 
so  low  as  to  preclude  the  working  of  these  ores  for  copper  alone. 
The  low  grade  copper  ores,  which  (in  sections  favored  with  cheap 
transportation,  or  near  commercial  centres)  could  be  easily  bene- 
ficiated  by  concentration,  were  here  valueless  ; and  as  it  was 
found  by  experience  that  the  presence  of  copper  greatly  hindered 
the  amalgamation  of  the  gold  ores,  for  which  these  mines  were 
in  every  case  originally  operated,  the  presence  of  any  considera- 
ble amount  of  copper  was  the  signal  for  abandoning  the  mine. 
It  is  also  quite  true  that  copper  pyrite,  as  a rule,  does  not  carry 
as  much  gold  as  iron  pyrite. 

It  is  not  probable  that  the  ores  of  copper  are  likely  to  be  of 
importance  for  the  exclusive  production  of  that  metal  in  the  pres- 
ent condition  of  the  copper  market ; but  in  a smelting  treatment 
of  the  gold  ores  of  this  section  (particularly  the  complex  sul- 
phurets), the  command  of  a large  supply  of  auriferous  copper 


110 


GOLD  DEPOSITS  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


ores  is  almost  essential  to  the  prosperity  of  many  of  the  mines  of 
central  North  Carolina. 

THE  MINES  IN  THE  CAROLINA  IGNEOUS  BELT. 

MINES  IN  GUILFORD  COUNTY. 

\ 

The  mines  of  this  county  lie  to  the  south  and  southwest  of 
Greensboro.  They  carry  highly  cupriferous  ores,  and  have  been 
worked  both  for  gold  and  copper.  Emmons  described  these  mines 
in  1856,1  and  a brief  condensation,  with  some  rearrangements  and 
additions,  is  made  from  his  report,  as  a matter  of  convenience  to 
those  who  have  no  opportunity  to  consult  the  same. 

The  Hodges  (or  Hodgins)  Hill  Mine  is  situated  6 miles  south- 
east from  Greensboro,  and  lies  near  the  western  edge  of  the  gran- 
ite. The  vein  is  stated  to  strike  a little  west  of  north  and  to  dip 
to  the  southwest,  400  feet  on  the  slope  making  hardly  more  than 
100  feet  in  vertical  depth.  It  is  from  6 inches  to  12  feet  in  width. 
Pits  have  been  sunk  along  the  outcrop  for  a distance  of  800  to  900 
feet.  The  gold  is  distributed  unequally  through  quartz  and  chal- 
copyrite.  Other  gangue  minerals  are  pyrites,  siderite,  mangan- 
ese oxide  and  limonite.  The  alteration  copper  minerals  are 
malachite  and  red  oxide.  Various  assays  show  the  following: 

Assays,  Ores  from  Hodges  Hill  Mine,  Guilford  County. 

(147)  (148)  (149)  (150)  (151) 

Gold,  per  ton $ 1.03 $ 2.07 $ 11.36 $ 22.74 $ 45.47 

Silver,  per  ton trace , trace trace trace 58 

$ 1.03  $ 2.07  $.  11.36  $ 22.74  8 46.05 

Samples  for  assays  Nos.  147  and  148  are  from  the  poorest  brown  ore  to  be  found  on  dump 
Sample  for  assay  140  was  from  the  best  appearing  oxidized,  cellular  siderite  from  dump. 
Sample  for  assay  150  was  from  the  screened  and  partly  concentrated  ore.  Sample  for 
assay  151  was  taken  from  the  most  prominent  iron  pyrites  obtainable  from  the  dump. 

The  Fisher  Hill  andMillis  Hill  Mines  are  5 to  6 miles  slightly 
west  of  south  from  Greensboro,  and  two  miles  west  of  the  Hodges 
Hill.  The  mining  tract  comprises  900  acres.  Fifteen  veins  are 
reported  on  the  property.  One  system  runs  approximately  north 
and  south,  and  a second  nearly  northeast  and  southwest.  The 
main  work  was  done  at  three  points  ; Fisher  Hill  ; Millis  Hill, 
nearly  150  rods  south  ; and  the  Puckett  vein,  towards  the  southern 
extremity  of  the  property.  The  dip  of  the  two  Hill  veins  is  very 


Geological  Report  of  the  Midland  Counties  of  N.  C.,  1856.  E.  Emmons,  pp.  170-175;  196-204. 


GUILFORD  COUNTY NORTH  CAROLINA  MINE. 


Ill 


flat,  from  15°  to  20°.  The  Fisher  Hill  vein  carries  a little  copper; 
Millis  Hill  a somewhat  larger  quantity;  and  the  Puckett  a con- 
siderable amount,  with  a heavy  percentage  of  iron  pyrite. 

The  aggregate  length  of  the  veins  on  this  property  is  perhaps 
not  less  than  8 or  10  miles,  though  not  everywhere  capable  of 
being  worked  under  existing  conditions.  The  vein  which  was 
most  extensively  worked  is  traceable  for  nearly  a mile,  and  has 
been  successfully  operated  at  several  points.  The  ore  body  varies 
from  1 inches  to  10  feet  in  thickness,  and  carries  relatively  high 
grade  milling  material.  Four  levels,  aggregating  nearly  200  feet, 
have  been  run.  The  milling  plant  consists  of  10  stamps,  and 
was  in  operation  in  1886  and  1887. 

The  Twin  Mine  is  situated  6 miles  southwest  from  Greensboro. 
It  derives  its  name  from  the  fact  that  two  parallel  vein's  are 
exposed  in  one  tunnel.  These  veins  have  a strike  of  H.  10°  E., 
with  a southeasterly  dip.  The  slate  between  the  veins  is  4 feet 
thick,  and  the  veins  about  1 8 inches,  consisting  of  quartz  carrying 
chalcopyrite. 

The  Raleigh  vein  is  a continuation  of  the  Twin. 

The  ISTorth  Carolina  (or  Fentress)  Mine  is  situated  from  9 to 
10  miles  south  of  Greensboro,  and  near  the  eastern  edge  of  the 
igneous  belt.  The  old  mine  dumps  bear  witness  to  the  size  of 
the  vein,  as  well  as  to  its  length,  for  it  has  been  traced  some  3 
miles  along  the  outcrop  ; though  the  part  which  was  actively 
worked  does  not  exceed  i mile  in  length.  It  has  been  entered  by 
3 deep  shafts,  and  by  a great  number  of  shallow  shafts  and  pits. 
The  strike  is  variable  from  H.  25°  E.  to  more  easterly  ; the  dip 
is  westerly  from  38°  to  60°.  The  main,  or  Engine  shaft,  is  100 
feet  deep,  partly  vertical  (possibly  330  feet),  and  partly  on  the 
underlay.  Four  levels  have  been  run  from  300  to  500  feet  in 
length. 

In  the  Worth  shaft,  at  the  extreme  southwesterly  end  of  the 
vein,  the  ore  body  is  3 to  1 feet  thick  at  the  depth  of  10  feet ; 
at  the  extreme  northeasterly  end  it  is  3 feet  thick  at  a depth  of 
55  feet ; while  at  the  Colby  shaft  it  is  1 foot  thick  at  a depth  of 
40  feet.  At  310  feet  the  fissure  is  from  7 to  13  feet  wide 
between  the  wTalls.  There  is,  however,  no  improvement  in  the 


112 


GOLD  DEPOSITS  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


vein  where  it  is  expanded,  and  it  carries  no  more  copper  than 
when  7 to  8 feet  thick.  The  copper  sulphurets  shift  in  position, 
lying  upon  the  footwall  for  30  to  10  feet,  then  suddenly  curving 
upwards  and  following  the  hanging  wall  for  a distance  of  20  to 
30  feet ; or  without  a curve,  they  suddenly  leave  one  wall  and 
take  to  the  other.  Occasionally  they  occur  in  nests  or  solid 
masses  18  to  20  inches  long  by  7 to  8 inches  thick.  The  veinstone 
is  quartz  and  carbonate  of  iron. 

In  1855-56,  when  the  mine  was  last  worked  on  any  consider- 
able scale,' it  had  a high  degree  of  prosperity,  and  shipments  of 
copper  ore,  for  which  it  was  then  exclusively  worked,  amounted 
to  1,100  or  1,500  tons,  ranging  from  11  to  23  per  cent,  copper. 
The  shoot  then  worked  lay  upon  the  footwall  side,  just  above  the 
310  foot  level,  and  had  a maximum  width  of  31  inches.  The 
following  assays  represent  samples  taken  from  the  old  mine  dump  : 

Assays , Ores  from  the  North  Carolina  {or  Fentress)  Mine,  Guilford  County 

(152)  (153) 

Gold,  per  ton $ 0.62 $ 6 20 

Silver,  per  ton 77 

$ 0.62  $ 6.97 

No.  152.  Carbonate  of  iron,  which  appears  to  contain  practically  no  gold,  except  when 
pyi  ites  are  casually  intermixed. 

‘No.  153.  Iron  pyrite,  with  a trifling  per  cent,  of  copper. 

The  Gardner  Hill  Mine  is  2 to  3 miles  a little  to  the  north 
of  east  from  Jamestown.  Comparatively  little  work  has  been 
done  here  since  Prof.  Emmons  examined  the  mine  in  1856,  and 
the  following  extract  is  taken  from  his  report1  : 

“It  is  a true  vein,  whose  direction  is  E . 20°  E.,  with  a westerly 
dip.  * * * " The  gangue  is  quartz  intermixed  with  brown 

ore,  which  lies  against  the  footwall,  and  is  from  6 to  12  inches 
thick.  * * * The  lode  is  bounded  by  slate  or  killas  ; but  the 

adjacent  granite  on  the  lower. or  footwall  is  extremely  tough  and 
hard,  while  that  on  the  upper  side  is  soft.  The  arrangement  of 
the  vein  stone  is  shown  in  Fig.  S.  a.  a.  the  granite  enclosing 


1 Geological  Report  of  the  Midland  counties  of  North  Carolina,  1S56,  pp.  174-176. 


GUILFORD  COUNTY GARDNER  HILL  MINE. 


113 


Fig.  8.  Showing  struc- 
ture of  the  vein  fis- 
sure at  the  Gardner 
Hill  mine. 


i.  c.  7j.  c.  the  vein  fissure  ; b.  b.  killas  or  slate;  c.  vein. 

The  vein  fissure  is  rarely  more  than  3 feet  wide 
near  the  top,  and  in  a part  of  the  lode  at  the 
depth  of  80  feet  it  is  only  8 inches,  where  the 
ore  is  poor.  The  vein  stone  is  quartz  as  is 
commonly  the  case  in  granite,  but  upon  each 
side  it  is  bounded  by  slate,  which  of  course  fills 
in  part  the  fissure.  * * * * qpg  g0iq 

bearing  oxide  is  derived  from  the  copper  and 
iron  pyrites.  It  seems,  therefore,  that  the  gold  attaches  itself, 
as  usual,  to  the  sulphurets.  * * * * The  Gardner  mine,  at 

the  depth  of  110  feet,  yields,  under  careful  management,  about 
one  dollar  per  bushel1,  the  poorest  about  fifty  cents.  The  ore 
contains  a handsome  quantity  of  rich  sulphuret  of  iron  and  cop- 
per ; it  yields  about  30  per  cent,  of  copper ; it  is  not  largely 
intermixed  with  iron  pyrites  at  any  part  of  the  vein.  There  are 
probably  three  veins  upon  the  Gardner  property,  but  I have  been 
unable  to  determine  their  relations.” 

The  following  facts  have  been  elicited  by  the  present  survey : 
The  vein  has  been  worked  for  a length  of  5,000  feet  along  its 
course,  from  the  Creek  shaft  on  the  northeast  to  the  White  Oak 
shaft  on  the  southwest,  but  the  main  work  has  been  confined 
rather  to  the  southerly  part  of  the  property. 

The  following  shafts  have  been  sunk,  and  in  the  order  named  : 
The  Creek  shaft,  110  feet  deep,  on  the  underlay.  The  ore  body 
was^6  to  8 inches  wide,  consisting  of  iron  und  copper  pyrites  in 


quartz. 

The  Underlay  shaft,  600  feet  southwest,  is  175  feet  deep  on 
the  incline. 

The  Old  Engine  shaft,  some  100  feet  from  the  south  end  of  the 
property  is  175  feet  deep,  vertical. 

The  blew  Engine  shaft,  still  farther  southwest,  is  25S  feet  in 
depth,  vertical.  ISTo.  2 shaft,  250  feet  southwest  of  the  above,  is 
110  feet  deep,  vertical. 

The  White  Oak  shaft  at  the  southern  boundary  of  the  property, 
is  150  feet  deep,  vertical. 


1 Twenty  bushels  to  the  ton,  approximately. 


114: 


GOLD  DEPOSITS  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


There  are  four  levels  at  60,  100,  150  and  228  feet.  They  aver- 
age 500  feet  in  length,  and  have  been  driven  in  both  directions 
from  the  shafts,  with  the  exception  that  no  south  level  was  driven 
from  the  White  Oak  shaft.  The  mine  is  pretty  well  stoped  out 
from  the  water  level  (60  feet)  to  the  bottom  of  the  respective 
shafts.  Down  to  the  water  level  the  product  was  free-milling 
brown  ore  ; from  the  water  level  on  it  runs  into  copper  sul- 
phurets. 

When  copper  ore  was  encountered  in  quantity  little  further 
effort  was  made  to  extract  the  gold  ; shipping  ores  of  copper  were 
exclusively  sought  after,  and  for  many  years  a very  high  degree 
of  prosperity  was  enjoyed  ; it  is  stated  that  for  a long  period  4:0 
tons  of  yellow  copper  ore  were  shipped  weekly,  averaging  from 
20  to  25  per  cent,  copper.  The  width  of  the  veins  at  times  was 
fully  20  feet. 

It  has  been  stated  that  there  are  three  veins  on  the  property. 
A few  feet  back  of  the  Main  vein  is  the  Worth  vein,  which  is 
supposed  to  have  been  worked  out,  from  the  surface  down.  It  is 
claimed  to  have  been  very  productive,  and  to  have  enriched  the 
owners  and  lessees,  but  no  records  are  in  existence. 

Another  small  vein  (the  Goshen)  lies  some  200  to  300  feet 
behind  the  Main  vein,  but  the  Survey  is  unable  to  make  any 
further  statements  respecting  it. 

The  vein  matter  shows  everywhere  heavy  quartz  with  much 
brown  ore,  but  some  of  this  latter  is  evidently  derived  from  the 
alteration  of  carbonate  of  iron,  which  is  abundant. 

The  copper  sulphurets  were  separated  very  clean  by  cobbing 
and  dressing,  and  very  few  copper  minerals  can  now  be  seen,  but 
quartz,  carrying  iron  pyrite  in  small  quantity  is  abundant  in 
every  dump. 

Some  tentative  assays  show  from  §3  to  §10  per  ton  in  the  ore, 
which  would  be  sufficiently  auriferous  to  allow  profitable  milling 
and  concentrating.  It  is  estimated  that  there  are  25,000  tons  erf 
ore  on  the  dump  at  present,  which  can  be  handled  at  a merely 
nominal  expense. 

The  North  State  (or  McCullough)  Mine  is  situated  2 miles 
west  of  south  from  Jamestown.  Its  southerly  extension  is  the 


GUILFORD  COUNTY LINDSAY  MINE. 


115 


Lindsay,  and  its  northern  the  .Jacks  Hill ; then  the  lode  passes 
on  to  the  nnprospected  Whitehead  property  for  half  a mile  or  so  ; 
and  to  the  north  of  this  is  the  Aberdeen  mine.  The  entire  series 
forms  a stretch  nearly  3 miles  in  length.  For  a considerable 
part  of  this  distance  the  dumps  show  an  immense  accumulation 
of  heavjT  blocks  of  quartz,  which  bear  witness  to  the  great  size  of 
the  veins. 

The  Deep  River  mine  is  two  miles  south  of  the  Lindsay. 

The  following,  in  reference  to  the  North  State  mine,  is  from 
Emmons  : 1 

“The  vein  fissure  pursues  a northeast  course,  but  is  curved  in 
the  middle.  It  dips  S.  80°  E.,  and  at  one  place  S.  E.  The  vein 
is  composed  of  a column  of  brown  ore  resting  on  the  footwall, 
which  extends  from  the  outcrop  to  130  feet  in  depth.  Upon  this 
rests  the  disintegrated  ore,  containing  8 inches  of  beautiful  copper 
pyrites,  and  then  against  the  hanging  wall,  quartz  rather  poor  in 
gold  and  frequently  8 feet  thick.  The  vein  at  the  surface  is 
about  2 feet  wide  ; at  60  feet  it  is  1 ; at  90  feet  it  is  10  ; and  at 
130  feet  it  is  21J  feet  wide.  It  dips  at  an  angle  of  15  degrees. 
At  the  130  foot  level  it  swells  out  into  a rather  lenticular  form. 
Here  the  ore  is  concretionary  ; on  the  footwall  the  brown  ore  is 
6 inches  thick  only,  then  copper  pyrites,  then  a belt  of  brown 
ore  containg  nodules  or  concretions  of  pyrite  more  or  less  changed, 
the  middle  of  which  is  rich  in  gold.  Upon  the  hanging  wall  is 
the  principal  mass  of  porous  quartz,  which  is  generally  poor.  The 
brown  ore  is  soft,  and  easily  crushed.  It  is  intermixed  with  fine 
quartz  arid  spongy  masses  of  it,  which  are  rich  in  gold.  * * * 

Towards  the  north  is  -Jacks  Hill;  a shaft  sunk  in  the  top  of  this 
hill  cuts  the  vein  at  a depth  of  seventy-seven  feet,  where  it  is 
seventeen  feet  thick.  * * * The  copper  is  the  purest  sul- 

phuret,  yielding  by  analysis  thirty  per  cent,  of  copper.  * * * 

The  McCulloch  vein  carries  its  gold  in  combination  with  thesul- 
phurets.” 

Later  information  shows  that  the  Rodman  shaft  was  sunk  200 
feet  vertical,  and  50  feet  on  the  underlay  ; the  Eudy  shaft  is  210 


1 Geological  Report  of  the  Midland  Counties  of  North  Carolina,  1856.  p.  170. 


116 


GOLD  DEPOSITS  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


feet  vertical  and  120  feet  on  the  underlay  ; the  Peters  and  the 
Long  shafts  are  of  comparatively  moderate  depth.  The  last  work 
was  done  at  the  depth  of  325  feet,  where  the  vein  varied  from  4 
to  8 feet  in  width.  In  1883  a ten  stamp  mill  was  erected,  and 
during  that  and  the  following  year  materials  from  the  old  mine 
dumps  were  treated.  In  1885  the  mine  was  abandoned. 

At  the  Lindsay  Mine  (see  also  page  115)  the  more  important 
work  was  done  at  the  South  shaft  No.  2,  which  was  100  feet  in 
depth  ; twenty-two  feet  behind  the  main  vein  in  this  shaft  a 
second  vein  was  discovered,  hut  never  stoped.  Subsequently 
there  were  sunk  the  South  shaft  Ho.  1,  90  feet  deep  ; the  Engine 
shaft,  150  feet  vertical  and  60  feet  on  the  incline;  and  the  Wil- 
low shaft,  110  feet  deep. 

It  is  not  feasible  to  estimate  the  amount  of  ore  on  the  dumps 
of  this  stretch  of  2 miles  or  more,  still  less  can  any  reliable  state- 
ment of  their  value  be  given.  Some  recent  assays  indicate  a 
very  wide  range  from  $3.00  upwards.  A series  of  87  assays 
taken  from  all  parts  and  from  all  classes  of  ore  at  the  Lindsay 
mine  ranged  from  $4  to  $100  per  ton. 

The  Beason,  Ilarland,  Beard,  Vickery  and  Lauder,  Eudv,  and 
Ball  mines  are  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  Jamestown,  but  no 
trustworthy  information  of  importance  has  been  secured  respect- 
ing these. 

MINES  IN  DAVIDSON  COUNTY. 

The  La  lor  (or  Allen)  Mine  is  situated  2 miles  southeast 
from  Thomasville.  There  are  3 shafts,  the  deepest  of  which  is 
165  feet  on  the  underlay,  corresponding  to  about  140  feet  verti- 
cal. The  vein  is  reported  of  good  width  and  carries  a fair  pro- 
portion of  iron  and  copper  pyrites.  The  percentage  of  copper 
sulphurets  is  large  enough  to  give,  when  concentrated,  a pro- 
duct very  desirable  for  matte  smelting.  The  mine  was  operated 
in  1882  by  the  Campbell  Mining  and  Reduction  Company  of 
Hew  York.  The  mill  contained  10  stamps  and  concentrating 
apparatus.  A roasting  furnace  on  a novel  plan  was  erected  to 
desulphurize  the  ores  preparatory  to  smelting.  By  1SS6  the 
work  had  practically  ceased. 


ROW  AN  COUNTY DUNNS  MT,  MINE. 


117 


The  Loftin  Mine  is  one  and  a half  miles  southeast  of  Thom- 
asville.  Its  vein  stuff  is  quite  similar  to  that  of  the  Lalor  mine. 

The  Eureka  Mine  is  one-half  mile  west  of  the  Lalor.  It  is 
penetrated  to  a depth  of  125  feet.  The  width  and  character  of 
the  vein  and  the  nature  of  the  ore  are  nearly  the  same  as  at  the 
Lalor  mine.  Assays  show  the  ore  to  vary  from  $8.00  to  $25.00 
per  ton. 

The  Black  Mine  is  adjacent  to  the  Eureka. 

MINES  IN  ROWAN  COUNTY.1 

A group  of  mines  is  found  to  the  southwest  of  Salisbury,  from 
2 to  9 miles  distant,  and  1 to  3 miles  east  of  the  Southern  R.  hi. 
Among  the  principal  ones  are  the  Hartman,  Yadkin,  Hegus, 
Harrison,  Hill,  Southern  Belle,  Goodman,  Randleman,  and  Rose- 
man. 

The  workings  in  these  mines  have  been  comparatively  shallow, 
160  feet  being  the  deepest  so  far  as  records  go.  The  width  of 
the  ore  bodies  and  their  values  are  not  matters  of  record,  and 
nothing  can  he  said  of  them- here  with  exactness. 

Another  group  of  mines,  including  the  Hew  Discovery,  Dunns 
Mt.,  Reimer  and  Bullion,  is  situated  from  3 to  7 miles  east  and 
southeast  of  Salisbury. 

The  Hew  Discovery  Mine  is  3 miles  east  of  Salisbury.  The 
greatest  depth  to  which  it  has  been  worked  is  100  feet.  In  1SS3 
a plant  for  treating  the  ore  by  the  Designolle  process  was  erected, 
but  the  ore  was  found  deficient  in  quantity  and  difficult  to  treat, 
and  all  operations  ceased  towards  the  close  of  the  year. 

The  Dunns  Mt.  Mine  is  situated  3J  miles  east  of  Salisbury, 
and  about  J mile  northwest  of  Dunns  Mt.  It  has  practically 
been  idle  for  the  past  10  years.  The  old  mine  dumps  show  large 
masses  of  a dark  grey  dioritic  rock,  impregnated  with  pyrites  ; 
also  a fine-grained  schistose  and  a micaceous  phase  of  the  same  ; 
also  a light  pink  gneissoid  granite.  The  actual  relations  of  these 
rocks  unfortunately  could  not  be  ascertained,  but  it  seems  proba- 
ble that  the  country  rock  is  the  gneissoid  granite  of  the  Dunns  Mt. 


’For  description  of  mines  in  Rowan  county  in  the  slate  belt,  see  pp.  85-91. 


118 


GOLD  DEPOSITS  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


type,  whieli  has  been  penetrated  by  a dioritic  boss  or  dike,  pre- 
senting various  phases,  and  carrying  the  auriferous  quartz  veins. 

It  is  stated  that  there  are  3 veins,  one  northeast  and  southwest, 
one  northwest  and  southeast,  and  one  nearly  north  and  south  (the 
Office  vein).  The  first  of  these  was  worked  to  a depth  of  190  feet, 
averaging  about  4 feet  in  width.  It  was  largely  filled  with  slate 
and  quartz,  and  carried  only  a moderate  proportion  of  pvrite 
with  a trace  of  chalcopyrite.  The  Office  vein  was  worked  to  a 
vertical  depth  of  about  140  feet.  The  ores  were  oxidized  nearly 
to  the  lowest  level,  and  contained  but  a small  amount  of  sul- 
pliurets. 

The  Reimer  Mine  1 is  situated  6 miles  southeast  of  Salisbury, 
and  about  1 mile  east  of  the  Gold  Hill  R.  R.,  on  the  waters  of 
the  1 adkin  river.  The  accompanying  cut  (fig.  9)  illustrates  a ver- 
tical section  of  the  mine,  on  the  strike  of  the  vein  : 


Fig.  9.  Showing  vertical  Section  of  the  Reimer  Mine. 


The  mine  is  opened  by  3 vertical  shafts,  respectivelv  193,  43 
and  105  feet  in  depth.  The  vein-stone  is  quartz,  carrying  about 
10  per  cent  of  sulphurets  (mostly  pvrite  with  very  little  chalcopy- 
rite), as  reported  In’  the  superintendent.  In  width  the  fissure  is 
stated  to  average  about  31  feet,  varying  from  1 to  9 feet.  The 
quartz  shows  a tendency  t 'Wards  banded  structure  parallel  to  the 
walls,  which  are  smooth  and  accompanied  by  a clay  gouge. 

The  strike  of  the  vein  is  approximately  east  and  west  (W.  15° 
1ST.),  but  in  the  west  end  of  the  mine  the  course  has  been  deflected, 
by  a horse,  to  about  W . 40°  N.  The  dip  is  practically  vertical. 


Geological  Report  of  the  Midland  Counties  of  North  Carolina,  1S56.  E.  Emmons,  p.  1S1. 


KOWAN  COUNTY THE  REIJIEE  MINE. 


119 


The  following  sections  (fig.  10)  are  introduced  here  in 
illustrate  the  character  and  relation  of  the  wall  rocks  : 


order  to 


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Fig.  10.  Cross  sections  on  the  Reimer  vein  in  Shaft  No.  1,  showing  character  of  the  wall 
rocks. 


The  coarse  grained  rock  is  provisionally  called  quartz  diorite, 
and  the  fine  grained  rock  is  possibly  a phase  of  the  same.  The 
alternate  occurrence  of  these  two  varieties  on  opposite  walls, 
and  even  in  contact  on  the  same  wall  (110  foot  level)  suggests 
either  an  intrusive  dike  of  the  fine  grained  rock,  or  merely  a 
different  magmatic  phase  of  the  same  general  igneous  mass.  The 
intrusive  theory  seems  rather  untenable  from  the  fact  that  this 
rock  never  cuts  off  the  quartz  vein. 

The  last  work  at  the  Reimer  was  done  in  the  summer  of  1S95, 
in  the  lower  level  of  shaft,  No.  1.  In  the  west  drift  at  a short 
distance  from  the  shaft  a “horse”  from  the  hanging  wall  had 
narrowed  the  vein  to  12  inches.  The  reduction  plant  at  the 
mine  consists  of  a 20  stamp  mill,  -1  belt  concentrators,  roasting 
furnace,  and  a one-barrel  chlorination  house  after  the  Thies  pat- 
tern. Assays  of  the  ore  show  as  much  as  $24.00  to  the  ton,  but 
it  is  not  believed  that  it  can  average  much  over  $4.00  or  $5.00. 


120 


GOLD  DEPOSITS  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


The  concentrates  are  stated  to  be  worth  §30  to  840  per  ton. 
About  ^ of  the  gold  extracted  is  saved  by  amalgamation  in  the  mill. 

The  Bullion  Mine  is  situated  about  one  half  mile  east  of  the 
Reimer.  The  outcrop  shows  that  the  vein  is  of  goodVidth,  but 
for  some  unknown  reason  it  has  never  been  much  worked.  At 
the  depth  of  90  feet  a level  was  driven  200  feet  in  length,  and  a 
7 foot  vein  reported.  The  last  work  is  supposed  to  have  been 
done  in  1881.  Some  assays  of  these  ores  show  : 

Assays,  Ores  from  the  Bullion  Mine , Rowan  County. 

(154,  (155)  (156)  (157) 

Gold,  per  ton $6.20 $9.32 $10.34 $15.51 

Silver.  “ 1.30 ..155...... 1.88 1.03 

$7.50  $10.87  $12.22  $16.54 

Another  group  of  mines  is  situated  8 to  10  miles  southeast  of 
Salisbury,  near  the  Stokes  Ferry  road.  Among  these  may  be 
named  the  Gold  Knob,  Dutch  Creek,  Atlas,  and  Bame.  The  more 
easterly  of  these  lie  about  one  mile  west  of  the  contact  between 
the  granite  and  the  schist.  Hone  of  the  mines  have  been  worked 
for  the  past  10  years. 

The  Gold  Knob  Mine  is  9 miles  southeast  of  Salisbury. 
Three  veins  have  been  worked  : the  Haynes,  the  Gold  Knob,  and 
Holtshauser.  The  Gold  Knob  is  in  places  20  feet  in  width.  The 
quartz  carries  iron  and  copper  sulphurets,  and  is,  as  a rule,  of  low 
grade,  though  chimnies  of  high  grade  ore  may  be  expected. 

The  Dutch  Creek  Mine  is  10  miles  southeast  of  Salisbury, 
just  to  the  southeast  of  Dutch  Second  creek.  The  property  con- 
tains a net  work  of  veins,  among  which  the  more  prominent  and 
chiefly  developed  ones  are  the  Katie,  Hill,  Tip-top,  and  Spring. 
The  Hill  and  Tip-top  have  2 shafts  down  to  water  level,  below 
which  line  the  ores  are  sulphuretted  and  refractory  to  mill  treat- 
ment. Several  shafts  on  the  Spring  vein  also  expose  sulphurets 
(pyrite  with  some  chalcopyrite)  at  water  level.  Two  shafts  were 
sunk  on  the  Katie  vein  with  like  results.  Several  of  the  other 
veins  are  high  in  copper  sulphurets.  Most  of  these  veins  run  in 
a general  northeast  and  southwest  direction,  but  some  seem  to 
have  a more  northerly  course,  intersecting  the  normal  running 


veins. 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY.  BULLETIN,  8 PLATE  IX. 


u 


CABARRUS  COUNTY PHCENIX  MINE. 


121 


The  Atlas  and  Bame  Mines  are  supposed  to  be  in  the  south- 
west continuation  of  the  Dutch  Creek  veins.  The  strike  of  the 
veins  is  1ST.  35°  to  40°  E.,  with  nearly  vertical  dip.  Some  of 
them  are  wTide,  but  the  ore,  as  a rule,  is  rather  low  in  grade,  at 
least  so  far  as  the  free  milling  qualities  go. 

CABARRUS  COUNTY. 

The  Joel  Reed  and  Montgomery  mines  are  situated  in  close 
proximity  to  Concord,  the  county  seat,  but  not  enough  is  known 
of  these  to  justify  any  description. 

A group  of  some  importance,  comprising  the  Phoenix,  Tucker,, 
and  Quaker  City  mines,  is  situated  6 to  8 miles  southeast  of  Con- 
cord. 

The  Phoenix  Mine1  is  7 miles  south  of  east  of  Concord.  It  was 
last  worked  in  1889  under  the  management  of  Mr.  A.  Thies,  E.  M., 
now  of  the  Haile  mine,  S.  C.,  who  treated  the  ores  successfully  by 
the  chlorination  process.  It  was  inaccessible  when  visited  in  1894. 
The  country  rocks  are  schists,  but  as  the  auriferous  veins  occur  in 
diabase  which  traverses  the  schists,  the  mine  is  iucluded  here 
in  the  igneous  belt.  The  old  dumps  show  both  soft  and  siliciiied 
types  of  the  schist,  besides  large  masses  of  diabase  of  two  types : 
(1)  a fine  grained,  massive  ; (2)  a porphyritic  phase  of  the  first.  The 
following  notes  are  based  upon  data  which  have  been  kindly  fur- 
nished by  Mr.  Thies : 

There  are  three  parallel  veins  about  200  and  1,000  feet  apart. 
The  main  (Phoenix)  vein,  lying  on  the  northwest,  strikes  N.  70° 
E.,  and  dips  80°  N.  W.  It  has  been  traced  for  2,100  feet  on  the 
surface  and  varies  from  12  inches  to  3 feet  in  thickness.  Mr.  Thies’ 
work  was  confined  to  the  300  foot  shoot  in  this  vein.  It  pitches 
to  the  northeast,  and  is  opened  by  shaft  No.  3,  sunk  485  feet  on 
the  dip  of  the  vein.  Stoping  has  been  done  from  the  100  to  the 
425  foot  level.  Plate  No.  IX  shows  a longitudinal  vertical  sec- 
tion of  the  workings.  The  filling  of  the  fissure  is  quartz,  carrying 
from  3 to  60  per  cent,  of  sulphurets  (pyrite,  chalcopvrite  and 
traces  of  galena).  The  other  gangue  minerals  are  barite,  with 


'Geological  Report  of  the  Midland  Counties  of  North  Carolina.  E.  Emmons,  1856.  p.  178. 


122 


GOLD  DEPOSITS  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


V* 

some  calcite  and  siderite.  Free  gold  is  found  in  the  barite  and 
calcite.  In  the  bottom  of  the  485  foot  shaft  the  vein  averaged  30 
inches  in  width,  but  the  “pay-streak,”  lying  on  the  hanging,  is  only 
from  2 to  3 inches  thick.  It  is  believed  that  if  the  vein  were 
drifted  on  here,  in  a southwest  direction,  the  large  ore  shoot 
formerly  mined  from  the  pump  shaft,  would  again  be  reached. 

The  Pump  shaft,  213  feet  deep,  is  situated  300  feet  southwest 
from  No.  3.  The  so-called  “Big  Sulphur”  shoot  was  worked  here 
in  former  years  from  the  180  foot  level  to  the  surface.  The  ore  in 
the  bottom  of  the  shaft  is  14  inches  thick  and  shows  free  gold. 

The  Phoenix  ores  were  treated  by  mill  amalgamation  and  sub- 
sequent chlorination  of  the  roasted  concentrates.  A Mears  chlo- 
rination plant  was  erected  in  1880,  and  wTas  later  on  developed  by 
Mr.  Thies  into  what  is  now  generally  known  as  the  “Thies 
process.” 

The  ores  were  cobbed  and  sorted,  the  heavy  sulphurets  being 
treated  by  themselves,  and  the  other  portion  being  milled  and 
concentrated.  The  mill  yield  was  $10  00  per  ton,  and  about  $7.50 
w7as  contained  in  the  sulphurets  and  not  free  to  amalgamate.  The 
concentrates  ran  $30.00  per  ton.  The  ores  contain  from  II  to  3 
per  cent,  of  copper.  The  exstraction  of  gold  by  chlorination  was 
as  high  as  90  to  95  per  cent.  The  mill  and  chlorination  plants  are 
now  dismantled. 

The  “Middle”  vein,  lying  200  feet  southeast  of  the  “Phoenix,”  fl 
was  formerly  worked  by  open  pitting  ; towards  the  northeast  it 
appears  to  approach  the  Phoenix.  Masses  of  sulphurets  were 
found  here,  assaying  as  high  as  $36.00  per  ton. 

About  1,000  feet  to  the  southeast  of  the  Middle  vein  is  a heavy 
sulphuretted  lode,  composed  mainly  of  chalcopyrite  in  a gangue  of 
quartz  and  barite.  The  old  workings,  which  were  shallow,  are 
now  inaccessible.  Assays  of  the  surface  ore  show  22  per  cent, 
copper  and  $42.00  gold  and  silver  per  ton. 

The  Barrier  Mine  is  1 mile  southwest  from  the  Phoenix,  on  the 
same  property,  and  was  formerly  open  to  a depth  of  160  feet.  It 
is  stated  (by  Mr.  Orchard)  that  there  are  two  veins  here.  12  feet 
apart,  the  one  14  inches  thick  and  perpendicular,  and  the  other  16 


CABARRUS  COUNTY  MINES. 


123 


inches  thick  and  inclined  ; at  160  feet  they  are  only  2 feet  apart. 
The  ore  is  reported  to  have  been  worth  $3.00  a bushel  ($60.00  a 
| ton.  This  mine  was  last  worked,  previous  to  1860,  by  Mr.  Orchard 
(deceased),  and  has  not  been  operated  since. 

Adjoining  the  Phoenix  on  the  northeast  and  west  boundaries 
are  the  Furness  and  the  Gibb  mines,  which  were  worked  in  former 
years,  and  are  reported  to  have  yielded  high  grade  sulphuretted 
ores,  A shaft  has  recently  been  sunk  on  the  Furness  property, 
but  the  results  of  the  exploration  are  not  known. 

The  Faggart  Mine  is  3 miles  northeast  of  the  Phoenix.  It  was 
opened  by  a shaft  100  feet  deep,  with  a drift  probably  50  feet  in 
length.  The  vein  is  18  inches  wide,  and  composed  of  auriferous 
quartz  and  pyrite,  having  a stated  value  of  $7.00  per  ton. 

The  Barkhardt  Mine1  is  1?  miles  east  of  the  Faggart.  The 
quartz  vein,  carrying  galena  and  chalcopyrite,  lies  in  diorite  or 
diabase.  It  is  reported  to  be  5 feet  in  width  ; with  a value  of  $9.00 
per  ton,  in  gold.  A small  stream  on  the  property  was  worked  for 
years,  and  has  furnished  very  coarse  gold,  up  to  5 and  6 penny- 
weight pieces. 

The  Tucker  (or  California)  Mine  is  about  1 mile  south  of  the 
Phoenix,  and  about  one-third  mile  west  of  the  junction  of  the  gran- 
ite and  the  schists.  When  last  worked  (about  1881)  the  main 
shaft  had  reached  a depth  of  about  175  feet,  and  levels  aggregat- 
ing 117  feet  in  length  had  been  driven.  The  vein  did  not  average 
over  S inches  wide,  with  northeast  strike  and  nearly  vertical  dip. 
The  ore  was  heavy  in  sulplrurets  (mostly  pyrite  wTith  a little  chal- 
copyrite) in  a gangue  of  quartz  and  barite.  Its  value  is  stated  to 
have  been  $15  per  ton.  In  1882  a Plattner  chlorination  plant  was 
erected,  with  one  single  hearth  reverberatory  furnace,  but  it  did 
not  give  satisfactory  results,  and  the  Mears  process  was  intro- 
duced. 

The  Quaker  City  Mine  is  3 miles  north  of  the  Tucker.  There 
are  3 shafts  on  the  property,  40,  60,  and  80  feet  deep,  respectively. 
The  vein  is  from  2 to  5 feet  wide,  and  carries  in  its  lower  depths 
much  iron  pyrites  with  a little  copper.  The  ore  is  low  grade. 
It  has  not  been  operated  during  the  past  10  years. 


Geological  Report  of  the  Midland  Counties  of  North  Carolina,  1856.  E.  Emmons,  p.  178. 


124 


GOLD  DEPOSITS  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


The  Reed  Mine1  is  situated  10  miles  southeast  of  Concord.  It 
is  of  especial  interest  as  being  the  site  of  the  earliest  recorded  dis- 
covery of  gold  in  North  Carolina,  and  it  was  the  first  mine  to  give 
celebrity  to  the  gold  fields  of  the  Appalachian  range,  though 
probably  not  the  first  to  yield  gold. 

In  1799  the  first  nugget,  weighing  17  pounds,  was  accidentally 
found  in  a branch  ; and  this  was  followed  in  1803  by  the  discov- 
ery of  a 28  pound  nugget,  the  largest  on  record  in  the  Eastern 
United  States.  Regular  mining  work  was  commenced  shortly 
after  this  latter  date,  and  during  the  subsequent  period  of  40 
years,  the  mine  yielded  large  quantities  of  gold.  The  proportion  of 
large  nuggets  has  not  been  paralleled  on  this  side  of  the  conti- 
nent. Notwithstanding  the  fact  that  the  gravel  has  been  so  long 
worked,  there  are  some  hollows  or  sinks  of  several  acres  in  extent, 
which  are  almost  virgin,  but  as  the  drainage  is  very  imperfect 
they  have  never  received  the  attention  they  deserve.  The  imme- 
• diate  suppl}7  of  water  is  not  large,  but  Rocky  river  and  Buffalo 
creek  might  be  tapped  tor  the  requisite  supply  for  large  hydraulic 
operations. 

The  mine  might  perhaps  more  properly  be  said  to  be  in  the 
Carolina  Slate  Belt,  but  the  auriferous  veins  are  confined  to  a large 
greenstone  dike  (reported  to  be  150  feet  in  width),  and  therefore 
it  is  placed  here  in  the  Igneous  Belt.  This  greenstone  is  impreg- 
nated with  pyrite,  and  contains  quartz  fissure  veins,  varying  from 
4 inches  to  3 feet  in  thickness,  and  striking  about  E.  25°  E.,  with 
a dip  of  45°  to  57°  S.  E.  Cross  fissures  also  occur.  The  main 
shaft  is  120  feet  deep.  It  was  inaccessible  in  1894.  The  mine  was 
operated  in  a fitful  manner  from  1S81  to  1S87.  During  1895  some 
prospecting  and  development  work  has  been  done  ; the  old  shaft  on 
the“  lower  hill”  has  been  opened  up  and  retimbered  ; the  west  side 
of  the  “upper  hill,”  the  west  and  south  sides  of  the  “lower  hill,” 
and  both  banks  of  Little  Meadow  creek  have  been  opened  up  for 
placer  work;  and  a shaft  has  been  sunk  near  the  western  limit  of 
the  property  which  lias  opened  up  a large  body  of  low  grade  ore  that 
is  said  to  assay  $7.50  per  ton  in  free  gold,  and  $11.55  per  ton  of  gold 
the  sulphurets.  Preparations  are  being  made  for  active  mining. 


1Geol.  Report  of  the  Midland  Counties  of  North  Carolina,  1856,  E.  Emmons,  pp.  166-167. 


MECKLENBURG  COUNTY  MINES. 


125 


The  Pioneer  Mills  Mine1  is  situated  12 J miles  south  of  Con- 
cord, on  the  waters  of  Caldwell  creek,  which  flow  into  Rocky  river. 
The  mine  has  not  been  operated  practically  since  the  late  war. 

Only  one  exposure  of  the  country  rock  rock  was  observed  in 
place;  it  is  a much  decomposed  granite.  The  old  mine  dumps 
show  vast  masses  of  a gabbroitic  eruptive  rock  of  various  crystal- 
line phases,  from  coarse  to  fine  granular,  and  with  alterations  to  a 
propyllitic  type.  A fine  crystalline  diabase,  in  part  porphyritic, 
also  occurs,  and  contains  small  quartz  veinlets.  A large  specimen 
was  found  showing  a sharp  contact  between  the  coarse 
crystalline  gabbro  (?)  and  the  fine  grained  diabase.  A very  fine 
crystalline  granite  was  also  observed,  which  is  perhaps  a dike  form- 
ation in  the  gabbro  (?).  The  ore  is  quartz,  containing  iron  and 
copper  sulpburets,  which  sometimes  show  excellent  banding,  an 
example  of  incrustation.  Siderite  is  one  of  the  gangue  minerals. 

Other  mines  in  this  vicinity  are  the  Morrison,  Crosby  (or  Pop- 
lan),  and  Rogers,  none  of  which  are  now  accessible. 

MECKLENBURG  COUNTY. 

Gold  is  probably  more  widely  diffused  in  Mecklenburg  than  in 
any  other  county  of  the  central  part  of  the  State.  The  productive 
urea  covers  about  600  square  miles,  within  which  are  well  nigh 
100  mines,  which  have  at  some  time  or  other  been  worked  profit- 
ably. About  half  a dozen  of  these  mines  are  now  worked,  but 
only  2 or  3 with  any  vigor.  The  great  number  of  these  localities 
forbids  a full  description  of  each.  Only  those  at  work,  or  those 
which  are  considered  the  more  important,  can  be  described  in  the 
limited  space  of  this  report. 

To  a great  extent  they  are  capable  of  being  grouped  into  smaller 
districts.  The  vicinity  of  Charlotte  is  one  of  these  mineral  dis- 
tricts, and  around  it  are  mines  on  all  sides,  among  them  the  fol- 
lowing: Davidson,  Blake,  Point,  Parks,  Clark,  St.  Catherine, 

Rudisil,  Smith  and  Palmer,  McDonald,  F.  "Wilson,  Howell,  Trot- 
ter, Carson,  Taylor,  Isenhour,  and  others  unknown  to  the  general 
public,  and  unnamed. 


1 Geological  Report  of  the  Midland  Counties  of  North  Carolina.  1856.  E.  Emmons,  p.  178. 


126 


GOLD  DEPOSITS  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


The  Davidson  Mine  is  1 mile  west  of  Charlotte,  on  the  south 
end  of  Davidson  Hill.  It  has  been  worked  to  a depth  of  80  feet; 
the  vein  was  3 to  1 feet  wide,  and  the  ores  were  reputed  good. 

The  Point  Mine , at  the  north  end  of  Davidson  Hill,  was 
worked  to  a depth  of  160  feet.  The  oxidized  ores  extended  much 
deeper  than  is  usual  in  this  region. 

The  Rudisil  Mine1. — The  Rudisil  and  the  St.  Catherine  mines 
are  respectively  in  the  south  and  the  north  parts  of  the  same  lode  ; 
the  former  is  one  mile,  and  the  latter  one-half  mile  south  of  Char- 
lotte. 

The  bodies  of  ores  in  both  mines  nearer  the  surface  lie  in  slates, 
which  in  places  approximate  100  feet  in  width.  These  slates  are 
both  argillaceous  and  chloritic,  everywhere  siliceous,  and  fre- 
quently replaced  by  layers  of  quartz  with  ore.  They  are  bounded 
by  the  country  rock  of  the  igneous  belt,  massive  crystalline  rocks. 

At  the  outset,  and  to  the  depth  of  something  more  than  100 
feet,  two  bodies  of  ore  were  recognized — the  “back  vein,”  and  the 
“front  vein,”  but  the  intervening  mass  of  slate  frequently  carried 
subordinate  bodies.  Emmons2  says  of  the  Rudisil  mine  : “ The 

rock  both  above  and  below  the  two  veins,  which  constitute  the 
mine,  is  the  syeDitic  granite  of  the  Salisbury  and  Greensboro  belt  ; 
but  the  veins  are  immediately  in  killas  or  slate,  which  cannot  be 
distinguished  from  the  slates  which  predominate  in  the  slate  belt ; 
and  there  are  other  points  where  the  slate  is  in  granite,  and  not 
less  than  100  feet  thick,  which  is  traversed  with  veins  of  quartz. 
It  is  difficult  to  determine  whether  the  slate  thus  situated  is  to  be 
regarded  as  the  killas  of  the  vein,  or  as  masses  of  the  slate  system 
isolated  by  an  eruptive  rock.” 

“Thus  the  Rudisil  veins  are  between  masses  of  an  eruptive 
rock.  * * * * The  vein  fissure  is  fifty  feet  thick,  occupied 

by  talcose  slate,  which  is  overfaid  by  white  granite,  and  underlaid 
by  elvan  or  a dark  trappean  rock.  A vertical  section,  Fig.  11, 


1 Geol.  Report  of  the  Midland  Counties  of  North  Carolina.  E.  Emmons,  1S56.  pp.  17t>-lT7. 

2 Idem. 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY.  BULLETIN  3,  PLATE 


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MECKLENBURG  COUNTY RUDISIL  MINE. 


127 


Fig.  11.  Ideal  vertical  section 
across  the  Rudisil  Assure. 


shows  the  position  of  the  two  veins,  lying  one  ( h ')  against  the 

elvan  (a'),  and  the  other  ( h ) against  the 
white  granite  («).” 

The  strike  of  the  fissure  approximates 
N.  30°  E.,  and  the  dip  45°  N.  W.  At 
the  depth  of  200  feet  or  more  the  slaty 
character  becomes  less  evident,  and  ulti- 
mately disappears,  seemingly  giving  place 
to  the  massive  country. 

The  two  ore  bodies  (front  and  back 
veins)  vary  considerably  in  width  from  2 
to  4,  and  sometimes  6 feet.  At  the  depth 
of  200  feet  they  appear  to  approach. 

The  ore  was  carried  in  pockets  in  the  slates  (or  schists),  and  in 
great  abundance,  so  that  for  many  years  the  mine  was  very  pros- 
perous. At  the  surface,  and  to  a considerable  depth,  the  mine 
material  was  the  rich  and  easily  treated  brown  ore  of  the  region. 

The  zone  below  water  le-.'el  carried  iron  pyrite  with  a little 
copper  pyrite  ; and  the  ore  was  scattered  somewhat,  through  a 
slaty  and  quartzose  gangue,  being  less  pockety  than  that  above 
the  water  line.  The  assays  for  this  zone  as  a rule  showed  mate- 
rial of  only  moderate  value.  At  the  200  foot  level  the  peroxides 
have  mostly  disappeared,  and  with  them  largely  the  free  gold, 
though  both  are  present  in  some  proportion  to  the  lowest  level — 
350  feet,  below  the  surface.  (See  plate  No.  X.) 

At  greater  depths  the  sulphurets  were  scattered  thinly  through 
a quartzose  and  somewhat  slaty  gangue,  or  in  narrow  seams,  or 
concentrated  in  large,  wide  and  rich  shoots  of  nearly  solid  sul- 
phurets.  An  inspection  of  the  plate  will  show  the  position  of  these 
shoots — 3 in  number.  As  regards  the  northern  shoot  neither  the 
point  of  origin  nor  its  character  are  matters  of  record  ; it  is  not 
known  above  the  130  foot  level. 

The  south  and  the  middle  (“Burnt  Shaft”)  shoots  began  just 
above  the  130  foot  level  in  narrow  threads,  and  expanded  both  in 
width  and  in  length  at  greater  depths.  Neither  the  north  nor  the 
middle  shoots  have  been  followed  below  the  192  foot  level  to  any 
extent,  though  slightly  explored  from  the  250  foot  level.  The 
9 


128 


GOLD  DEPOSITS  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


north  shoot  increased  from  a mere  seam  to  5 feet  in  thickness,  and 
had  a length  in  the  direction  of  the  vein,  varying  from  30  to  50 
feet.  The  material  of  this  shoot  was  a high  grade  sulphuret,  hut 
not  the  best  that  the  mine  has  furnished.  The  middle  shoot 
increased  in  the  same  way  to  be  8 feet  thick,  extending  longitudi- 
nally from  10  to  50  feet ; the  grade  of  ore  is  believed  to  have  been 
somewhat  higher  than  that  of  the  north  shoot. 

It  was,  however,  to  the  Big  shoot  (South  shoot)  that  the  mine 
has  in  recent  years  (as  late  as  1 887)  owed  its  reputation.  It  com- 
menced like  the  middle  shoot  almost  in  a point,  and  gradually 
widened  and  lengthened  with  a slight  south  pitch  of  its  own  in  the 
vein,  till  it  became  in  places  15  feet  thick,  and  100  feet  long  : its 
ends  were  not  abruptly  marked  off  from  the  adjacent  vein  or  from 
the  “country,”  but  passed  gradually  into  mine  material  compara- 
tively barren,  or  into  “country”  quite  worthless. 

The  contents  of  the  shoots,  as  a whole,  were  compact  iron 
pyrite  wTith  a very  little  copper  pyrite,  and  some  quartz,  which 
latter  was,  however,  for  the  most  part  readily  cobbed  out.  This 
ore  was  uniformly  of  high  grade,  entire  shipments  sometimes 
ranging  as  high  as  $180  per  ton. 

This  shoot  extended  down  a little  below  the  300  foot  level,  but 
in  the  350  foot  level  it  has  never  been  found.  There  has  been 
much  speculation  about  it,  and  opinions  have  varied  as  to  whether 
it  had  disappeared  altogether,  or  was  simply  “thrown”  from  its 
normal  position  by  one  of  the  many  deflections  of  the  vein  from 
its  direct  course. 

It  may  be  added  in  conclusion  that  the  so-called  barren  parts 
of  the  vein  carry  pyrites  scattered  through  the  quartz  and  slate, 
and  most  of  it  is  quite  capable  of  being  treated  bv  a preliminary 
cobbing  to  separate  the  massive  pyrites  for  direct  metallurgical 
treatment,  and  at  the  same  time  prepare  the  lowest  grade  mate- 
rial for  battery  amalgamation  and  subsequent  concentration  pre- 
paratory to  smelting  or  chlorination. 

The  following  assays  show  the  character  of  some  material 
from  this  mine  : 


MECKLENBURG  COUNTY ST.  CATHERINE  MINE. 


129 


Assays , Ores  and  Concentrates , Rudisil  Mine , Mecklenburg  County. 

Assays  of  Auriferous  Pyrite  scattered  in  gangue. 

(158)  (159)  (160)  (161) 

Gold,  per  ton $ 6.20 $ 9.30 $12.40 $20.67 

Silver,  per  ton trace 2.49 trace 13 

$ 6.20  $11.79  $12.40  $20.80 

Assays  of  First  Class  Ore,  Rudisil  Mine. 

(162)  (163)  (164) 

Gold,  per  ton $ 45.47 $ 72.35 $ 74.41 

Silver  per  ton trace trace trace 


$ 45.47  $ 72.35  $ 74.41 

Assays  of  Second  Class  Ore,  Rudisil  Mine. 


Gold,  per  tou 

Silver,  per  ton 

(165) 

...  $24  80 
...  trace. 

(166) 

$28.70 

trace. 

(167) 

$29.97 

.19 

(168) 
$31  01 
trace. 

(169) 

$35.14 

.65 

(170) 

$35.14 

.96 

(171) 

$36.18 

.13 

$ 24.80 

$27.70 

$30.16 

$31.01 

$35.79 

$36.10 

$36.31 

Assays  of  First  Class  Cobbed  Sulphurets,  Rudisil  Mine. 

(172)  (173)  (174) 

Gold,  per  ton $165.36 $126.09 $227.37 

Silver,  per  ton 45 94 1.71 


Gold,  per  ton... 
Silver,  per  ton 


$165.81  $127.03 

Assays  of  Concentrates,  Rudisil  Mine. 

(175)  (176) 

$53.74 $59.94 

...>. 2.90 173 

$ 56.64  $61.67 


$229.08 


(177) 
.$67.18 
. 1.14 

$68.32 


The  St.  Catherine  (Charlotte)  Mine  is  located  in  the  north- 
east extension  of  the  Rudisil  lode  (page  126),  the  two  mines 
being  over  half  a mile  apart.  The  region  intervening  has  been 
prospected  superficially,  but  as  yet  nothing  of  importance  has 
been  found  which  promised  well  for  deeper  operations.  Both 
mines  have  the  same  general  features,  and  agree  in  strike  and  dip. 

The  St.  Catherine  has  been  worked  to  a depth  of  160  feet  (155 
feet  vertical  and  305  feet  on  the  underlay,  equivalent  to  a total 
vertical  depth  of  370  feet). 

In  the  lower  part  of  the  mine  the  vein  does  not  seem  to  be 
well  consolidated,  and  the  geological  relations  are  perplexing. 
Below  250  feet  there  are  several  large  shoots  of  low  grade  ore 
quite  suitable  for  milling  and  concentrating,  notably  the  ore 
body  worked  from  the  “pump”  shaft  and  between  the  depths  of 
200  and  370  feet,  below  which  point  it  has  not  yet  been  removed. 
The  occurrence  may  be  briefly  stated  as  a series  of  obscurely 
parallel  seams  of  slate,  with  quartzose  ore  bodies  2 to  6 feet  in 


130 


GOLD  DEPOSITS  OF  NOETII  CAROLINA. 


thickness  between  ; the  amount  of  pyrite  in  this  class  of  ore  is 
small. 

A cross  vein  (striking  H.  W.  and  S.  E.)  has  been  examined 
from  the  155  foot  level  for  a distance  of  100  feet  along  the  vein. 

The  following  assays  show  the  range  in  character  and  value  of 
some  of  the  ores  of  this  mine  : 


Assays , Gold  Ores,  St.  Catherine  Mine , Mecklenburg  County. 


Assays  of  Brown  Ores. 

(178)  (179)  (180)  (181) 

Gold  per  ton $ 26.87 $ 39.27 $ 56.87 $103.35 

Siiver  “ “ .71 .58 .38 .88 


$ 27.58  $ 39.85  $ 57.27  $101.23 

Assay  of  Quartz,  with  Dissemminated  Pyrite,  St.  Catherine  Mine. 

(182) 

Gold,  per  ton $21.80 

Silver,  “ 16 


$21.96 


Assays  of  First  Class  Ores,  St.  Catherine  Mine. 

(183)  (181)  (1S5) 

Gold,  per  ton $ 52.19 $ 53.71 $ 72.11 

Silver,  “ 55 trace .39 

$ 52.71  $ 53.71  $ 72.80 

Assays  of  Second  Class  Ores,  St.  Catherine  Mine. 

(186)  (187)  (18S) 

Gold,  per  ton $ 3511 $ 33.07 $ 35.11 

Silver  “ “ 1.11 trace 28 


$ 36.28  $ 33.07  $ 35.42 

Assays  of  Cobhed  First  Class  Ore,  St.  Catherine  M2ne. 

(189)  (190)  (191) 

Gold,  per  ton $95.08 $108.52 $181.38 

Silver,  “ 41 trace trace 


$95.49  $108.52  $181.3S 

Assays  of  Concentrates,  St.  Catherine  Mine. 

(192)  (193)  (194) 

Gold,  per  ton $10.31 $ 66.11 $133.32 

Silver,  “ 1.10 1.23 1.23 


$11.11 


$67.37 


$134.55 


In  1883  a ten  stamp  mill  was  erected.  The  ores  were  first  sub- 
jected to  a preliminary  cobbing,  which  separated  out  the  massive 
pyrites  and  lean  ore,  the  latter  going  to  the  stamp  mill. 
The  free  gold  was  caught  in  the  battery  and  on  the  plates  in 
the  customary  mode  of  amalgamation,  and  the  tailings  led 
directly  to  Frue  vanners,  where  the  product  was  concentrates. 
The  cobhed  pyrites  and  concentrates  were  shipped  north  and 
elsewhere  for  treatment. 


MECKLENBURG  COUNTY  MINES. 


131 


The  proportion  of  massive  pyrites  to  the  whole  material  mined 
(except  when  near  a rich  chimney)  was  small,  probably  not  more 
than  2 or  3 per  cent. 

In  the  common  run  of  mining  and  milling  practice  it  required 
10  to  15  tons  of  ordinary  ore  to  make  one  ton  of  concentrates, 
which  ordinarily  contained  SO  to  90  per  cent,  sulphurets.  It  is 
worthy  of  remark  that  the  concentrates,  however  high  the  per 
cent,  of  sulphurets,  rarely  contained  as  much  gold  per  ton  as 
cobbed  ore  of  the  same  richness  in  sulphurets. 

The  last  work  at  the  St.  Catherine,  of  which  the  writer  is 
aware,  was  in  1S87. 

The  Smith  and  Palmer  Mine  is  1 mile  south  of  Charlotte,  in  the 
Rudisil  neighborhood.  It  is  a mooted  point  whether  the  vein  he 
an  extension  of  the  Rudisil,  or  a parallel  body.  Its  strike  is  R. 
30°  E.  and  dip  50°  R.  W.  A line  of  pits  indicate  vein  matter 
for  something  more  than  500  feet  along  the  strike.  The  greatest 
depth  of  the  workings  was  75  feet,  and  the  width  of  the  vein  from 
2 to  -1  feet.  Assays  of  some  samples  show  : 

Assays,  Gold  Ore , Smith  and  Palmer  Mine , Mecklenburg  County. 

(195)  (196)  (197)  (198)  (199) 

Gold,  per  ton $ 5.17 $ 5.17 $ 15.51.; $ 15.51 $ 148.82 

Silver,  per  ton trace  .39 trace 26 .91 

$ 5.17  $ 5.4G  $ 15.51  $ 15.77  $ 149.73 

Two  other  veins  in  the  neighborhood  deserve  mention  in  this 
connection,  namely,  the  Frank  Wilson  and  the  McDonald.  The 
former  has  hardly  been  touched ; the  latter  has  been  worked  to  a 
moderate  depth,  but  no  record  of  the  work  has  been  preserved. 

The  ITowell  Mine  is  believed  to  lie  in  the  southern  extension 
of  the  Rudisil  lode.  It  has  been  worked  to  a depth  of  32  feet, 
and  something  more  than  50  feet  of  levels  have  been  driven.  The 
vein  is  stated  to  he  2 to  I feet  wide.  Assays  of  the  brown  ores 
show  $5  to  $11  per  ton,  and  of  the  sulphurets  $3S  to  $77. 

The  Taylor  Mine  is  3 miles  southwest  of  Charlotte,  and  the 
Isenhour  is  still  further  in  the  same  direction.  Each  of  these  has 
been  worked  for  a distance  of  about  100  feet  along  the  vein,  but 
to  a very  moderate  depth. 

The  Trotter  Mine  is  3 miles  sonthwest  of  Charlotte,  and  its 
vein  is  cut  by  the  Southern  R.  R.  (Charlotte  & Atlanta  line.)  It 


132 


GOLD  DEPOSITS  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


has  been  prospected  nearly  450  feet  in  length,  and  worked  70 
feet  in  depth.  Some  rich  specimens  were  taken  from  the  mine. 

Ti-ie  Clark  Mine  is  2J  miles  west  of  Charlotte.  There  appear 
to  be  two  vein  systems,  one  lying  approiimately  northeast  and 
southwest,  and  the  other  nearly  east  and  west.  Both  have  a steep 
dip  southward.  The  northeast  and  southwest  system  was  worked 
to  a depth  of  70  feet,  and  from  the  line  of  pits  the  inference  is 
reasonable  that  it  must  have  been  worked  along  the  strike  of  the 
vein  for  a distance  of  about  1,200  feet.  It  is  alleged  that  this 
part  of  the  mine  was  abandoned  on  account  of  flooding  by  water. 

Assays  of  samples  taken  from  this  vein  yield  the  following 
results  : 

Assays,  Gold  Ores , E.  and  W Vein,  Clark  Mine , Mecklenburg  County. 

(200)  (.201)  (202) 

Gold,  per  ton $ 5.17 $ 31.01 $ 146.76 

Silver,  per  ton trace 1.21 .29 

$ 5.17  $ 32  22  $ 147.05 

The  east  and  west  vein  was  worked  to  a depth  of  78  feet.  In 
the  72  foot  level  3 bodies  of  low  grade  brown  ore  were  found 
within  a space  of  little  less  than  25  feet ; they  measured  respec- 
tively 2 ft.,  4 in.;  7 ft.,  and  7 to  12  in.;  the  latter  body  was  the 
only  one  rich  enough  to  work,  and  an  average  sample  showed 
$16  per  ton,  assay  value. 

The  Paries  Mine  is  1 mile  northeast  of  Charlotte ; no  great 
depth  was  ever  attained  in  its  workings. 

A second  group  of  mines  is  found  5 to  10  miles  west  and  north- 
west of  Charlotte,  embracing  the  Hayes,  McGee,  Brawley,  Frazer, 
Hipps,  Campbell,  Todd,  Arlington,  Capps,  McGinn,  Means, 
Bennett,  Stephen  Wilson,  Gibson,  Heal,  Trautman,  Prim,  Aber- 
nathy, Alexander,  Dunn,  Sloan,  McCorkle,  Cathey  and  several 
others. 

The  Brawley  Mine  is  4 miles  west  of  Charlotte.  It  has  been 
quite  productive,  anc1  the  quantity  of  rich  float  quartz  was 
large,  but  all  efforts  to  find  a vein  have  proved  abortive.  The 
work  thus  far  done  would  indicate  the  existence  of  a net  work  of 
quartz  seams. 


MECKLENBURG  COUNTY  MINES. 


133 


The  Todd  Mine  is  situated  5 miles  northwest  of  Charlotte. 
There  are  two,  and  possibly  three,  veins  on  the  property.  The 
vein  which  was  most  extensively  worked  strikes  east  and  west, 
and  dips  15°  southward.  It  has  been  penetrated  to  a depth  of 
80  feet.  Some  exploratory  work  was  done  at  this  mine  in  1886, 
and  a ten  stamp  mill  erected. 

The  Arlington  Mine  is  6 miles  west  of  Charlotte,  and  has 
been  sunk  to  a depth  of  70  feet. 

The  Stephen  Wilson  Mine  is  9 miles  west  of  Charlotte.  The 
property  comprises  310  acres,  and  it  is  stated  that  10  well  defined 
veins  have  been  located.  Of  these  only  two  have  been  worked, 
namely,  jSTo.  2 and  No.  3.  Both  of  these  have  a strike  nearly 
east  and  west,  and  dip  southward,  No.  2 from  26°  to  15°,  and 
No.  3 a little  more  steeply.  No.  2 vein  is  from  2 to  3 feet  wide ; 
it  was  entered  by  an  underlay  shaft  to  a depth  (on  the  incline) 
of  100  feet,  and  1 levels  run.  The  ores  carry  iron  and  copper 
pyrites.  Some  very  rich  ores  have  been  mined.  Assays  show 
the  following  results  : 

Assays , Gold  Ores , Stephen  Wilson  Mine , Mecklenburg  County. 


(203)  (204)  (205)  (206)  (207)  (208) 

Gold,  per  ton $ 0.83  $ 24.80  $ 51.22  $ 95.08  $155.03  $344  67 

Silver,  per  ton .26  .90  .88  2.46  1.55  1.29 


$ 1.09  $ 25  70  $ 52.10  $ 97.54  $156.58  $345.96 

The  Gibson  and  Neal  mines  adjoin  the  Stephen  Wilson. 

The  Capps  Mine  is  situated  5i  miles  northwest  of  Charlotte, 
between  the  Bozzel’s  Ferry  and  Beattie’s  Ford  roads.  It  is 
located  on  a group  of  veins  of  which  two  are  closely  convergent 
(the  Jane  and  the  Capps).  By  the  accident  of  different  owner- 
ships, they  have  been  for  the  most  part  separately  and  differently 
developed.  The  Capps  vein  has  a strike  N.  30°  to  35°  W.,  and 
a dip  westerly,  with  some  variations,  of  about  10°.  The  Jane  vein 
runs  N.  10°  to  N.  60°  E.,  and  has  a very  steep  pitch  eastward.  It  is 
not  certain  that  the  actual  intersection  of  these  veins  has  been 
found.  The  Capps  vein  has  an  ascertained  length  of  nearly  3,000 
feet,  and  the  Jane  probably  fully  as  much. 

As  the  development  of  these  two  veins  has  been  separate,  the 
description  will  follow  the  course  of  the  work. 


134 


GOLD  DEPOSITS  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


The  accompanying  sketch  (fig.  12)  shows  the  relative  position 
of  the  veins,  properties,  shafts,  and  worked  areas.  It  shows  also 
the  position  and  relations  of  the  McGinn  Copper  vein. 


Fig.  12.  Capps  and  McGinn  Mining  Tracts,  Mecklenburg  County. 

[Scale  : 1 inch  to  T5  rods.] 

The  later  work  on  the  Capps  was  restricted,  and  finally  stop- 
ped, from  legal  considerations,  but  the  earlier  work  extended  very 
nearly  along  the  line  of  the  outcrop  of  the  entire  vein — 2,000  to 
3,000  feet — and  was  carried  to  such  depths  as  to  disclose  clearly  the 
character  of  the  outcrop.  At  points  where  the  ore  proved  to  be 
exceptionally  abundant  and  valuable,  operations  were  extended 
much  deeper.  There  is  perhaps  no  vein  in  the  whole  section 
which  shows  such  extensive  prospecting  on  the  surface,  and 
bears  all  the  appearance  of  having  been  highly  remunerative. 


MECKLENBURG  COUNTY CAPPS  MINE. 


135 


It  is  much  to  be  regretted  that  there  are  such  scanty  records 
of  the  earlier  work,  and  of  the  characteristics  of  the  veins  and 
deposits.  The  outcrop  of  the  vein  at  many  points  still  shows  a 
width  of  20  to  25  feet,  and  the  debris  everywhere  indicates  a 
very  wide  vein. 

The  ores  near  the  surface  are  the  customary  soft  brown  ores 
with  quartz,  and  are  generally  free  milling. 

They  were  not  uniformly  disseminated  in  the  quartz,  but  gen- 
erally occurred  in  layers,  sometimes  near  the  hanging  wall,  some- 
times near  the  foot  wall.  At  greater  depths  sulphurets  of  iron 
(and  to  a small  extent,  of  cop>per),  together  with  quartz,  were 
found  ; nevertheless,  at  the  depth  of  130  feet  there  was  still  much 
brown  ore. 

The  work  was  never  prosecuted  to  any  great  depth — at  the 
Gooch  shaft  TO  feet,  at  the  Bissell  130,  and  at  the  Penman  65 
feet. 

The  filling  of  this  vein  is  quartz  ; its  width  is  not  known,  for 
no  systematic  work  has  ever  been  undertaken  to  find  the  walls  ; 
it  cannot  be  less  than  20  feet,  and  possibly  is  considerably  more. 

The  line  separating  the  veins  from  the  walls  is  not  always  sharp 
and  definite,  and  occasionally,  where  the  supposed  hanging  wall 
had  been  reached,  another  and  valuable  parallel  body  of  ore  was 
found  still  further  beyond,  which  ultimately  came  back  to  the 
main  vein. 

There  are  also  “cross  courses,”  leading  into  the  main  vein 
nearly  at  right  angles.  One  of  the  most  conspicuous  and  valua- 
ble of  these  was  found  in  the  130  foot  level,  at  the  distance  of 
225  feet  southeast  of  the  Bissell,  and  about  one-half  way  between 
the  Bissell  and  Mauney  shafts.  It  received  temporarily  the  name 
of  the  “East  and  West  vein,”  for  want  of  exact  data  as  to  its  rela- 
tions to  the  main  vein.  This  body  departs  abruptly  from  the 
main  vein  easterly  and  towards  the  Jane  vein,  and  has  been  fol- 
lowed in  that  course  120  feet,  and  almost  every  foot  of  the  vein 
material  was  ore.  The  width  of  this  depiosit  could  not  have  been 
much  less  than  18  to  21  inches,  and  the  ore  was  of  more  than 
average  value. 


136 


GOLD  DEPOSITS  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


A few  feet  further  north  there  is  a similar  cross  course  or  body 
of  ore,  but  so  far  as  explored  it  was  not  so  valuable  as  the  “East 
and  West  vein.” 

The  Capps  mine  has  been  noted  for  the  amount  of  ore  it  could 
furnish,  and  for  the  superior  grade  of  its  ore.  There  are  four 
well  known  bodies  of  ores.  The  first  of  these  is  near  the  Cfooch 
shaft,  toward  the  south  end  of  the  mine,  and  from  the  78  foot 
level  downward  it  yielded  largely  brown  ore  with  some  sul- 
phurets,  and  seemed  to  improve  in  character  going  south. 

The  second  body  is  in  the  78  foot  level  from  the  Mauney  shaft. 
Not  much  can  be  said  with  precision  respecting  the  value  of  this 
ore,  though  the  upper  part  of  the  body  toward  the  surface  yielded 
an  ore  of  high  grade. 

A third  and  very  large  ore  body  was  worked  out  through  the 
Bissell  shaft  to  the  depth  of  90  feet.  The  entire  length  of  this 
level  is  300  feet,  of  which  200  feet  are  to  the  north,  and  100  feet 
to  the  south  of  the  shaft ; the  whole  of  this  distance  was  ore,  free- 
milling  to  a great  extent  above,  but  more  and  more  sulphuretted 
bel-ow  ; it  has  never  yet  been  entirely  extracted  above  the  90  foot 
level,  but  the  best  part  of  it  has  been  stoped  out.  Below  the  90 
foot  level  the  ore  has  not  been  stoped  out  at  all,  except  as  it  was 
necessary  to  remove  it  in  running  the  levels.  The  body  has  been 
explored  by  a few  winzes  run  downward  toward  the  130  foot 
level.  Its  connection  with  the  large  body  developed  in  the  130 
foot  level  has  not  yet  been  established  conclusively,  but  there 
seemed  to  be  little  doubt  from  its  position  and  character  that 
there  is  such  a connection.  This  body  in  the  130  foot  level  is 
found  at  a point  125  feet  south  of  the  Bissell  shaft,  and  extends 
north  as  far  as  the  work  has  been  prosecuted.  The  shoot  cannot 
be  less  than  200  feet  long,  and  judging  from  the  90  foot  level,  it 
may  be  300  feet. 

Some  assays  of  the  ores  from  this  shoot  are  as  follows  : 

Assays , Gold  Ores,  Third  Ore  Body,  Capps  J line,  J lecklenburg  County. 

(209)  (210)  (211)  (212)  (213)  (214) 

Gold,  perton $ 11.72 $ 15.51 ...$  17.92 25.84 $ 49.6L $ 132.29 

Silver,  per  ton trace 32 14 13 97 S4 

$ 11.72  $ 15.83  $ 18.06  $ 25.97  $ 50.5S  $ 133.13 

Assay  No.  211  is  an  average  of  a large  body  of  ore  from  this  130-foot  (?)  level. 


MECKLENBURG  COUNTY MCGINN  MINE. 


137 


A fourth  body  was  found  in  the  bottom  of  the  Penman  shaft, 
335  feet  north  of  the  Bissell.  The  stopings  north  of  the  inclined 
shaft  are  very  extensive  and  reach  to  its  bottom  ; the  ore  body 
could  not  have  been  less  than  3 feet  thick  on  an  average,  and  this 
increased  in  one  place  to  be  8 feet,';  a very  little  good  ore  is  still  to 
be  seen  at  the  bottom. 

The  deposit  in  this  part  of  the  mine  is  comparatively  shallow, 
and  is,  and  will  continue  for  some  distance,  free-milling.  The  facts 
recited  will  justify  the  expectation  of  large  and  valuable  bodies 
of  ore  at  still  greater  depths. 

That  part  of  the  Jane  vein  on  the  Capps  mining  tract  was 
worked  in  part  from  the  Isabella  shaft  to  a depth  of  160  feet. 
There  is  no  record  of  the  value  of  the  ore  body  at  this  point  ; 
common  report  speaks  well  of  it,  but  admits  the  refractory  char- 
acter of  the  ore. 

The  Capps  mine  was  reopened  in  1882,  and  during  the  follow- 
ing year  some  ore  was  shipped  to  the  Designolle  works,  4 miles 
south  of  Charlotte.  However,  this  process  of  reduction  was  unsat- 
isfactory. In  1884  a ten  stamp  mill  was  erected  at  the  mine,  and 
the  ores  from  the  dump  were  milled  ; shortly  after  that  time  all 
operations  ceased.  In  the  spring  of  1895  four  diamond  drill  holes 
were  bored  on  the  Capps  vein,  respectively  310,  255,  180  and  170 
feet  deep.  The  vein  was  cut  by  each  hole,  and  showed  a thick- 
ness of  20  feet,  with  a dip  of  about  30°  S.  W.  The  walls  were 
fine  and  coarse  grained  diorite,  at  times  porphyritic.  Assays  of 
the  vein  matter  from  s.w. 
the  drill  cores  gave  A- 
$6  to  $7  per  ton. 

The  McGinn  Mine 
adjoins  the  Capps  on 
the  north.  The  ac- 
companying sketch 
map  (Fig.  12,  p.  134) 
shows  three  veins, 
one  of  which  has  nev- 

ei  been  explored,  the  Pig.13,  McGinn  Mine,  copper  vein;  a vertical  cross-section 
oooorwl  -ic  Tono  through  the  old  engine  shaft  shown  in  Pig.  5 of  Plate  XI,  and 

btJGUiiU.  1 b l lie  o on  the  line  A-B  of  Fig.  12,  page  134. 


Old  Penman  ^ 
Shaft  g _ 


Quartzose  Syenite 


90  ft. 

Cross  Cut  & Level 


150  ft. Cross  Cut 


Bottom 
Penman 
Shaft 
30  ft. 
Sunk  in  1? 


138 


GOLD  DEPOSITS  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


and  the  third  is  the  Copper  vein.  The  appearance  and  relations 
of  these  veins  and  of  the  ore  bodies  are  shown  in  the  sections  on 
Plate  XI,  and  in  figure  13  (p.  137). 

The  Jane  vein  has  been  worked  from  various  points,  and  espe- 
cially from  the  Engine  shaft  (150  feet),  at  which  point  all  of 
the  readily  accessible  ore  bodies  above  the  150  foot  level  have 
been  extracted.  A glance  at  plate  XI  will  show  an  ore  body  not 
much  less  than  35  feet  wide,  at  points,  and  at  the  same  time  will 
disclose  in  the  clearest  manner  some  of  the  characteristics  of  the 
vein  structure,  common  to  this  and  to  other  mines. 

The  Copper  vein  was  operated  extensively  for  copper  to  a 
depth  of  110  feet,  i.  e.  as  far  down  as  conld  readily  be  done  some 
50  years  ago,  with  the  appliances  then  at  command.  The  ore 
was  yellow  snlphuret,  and  was  shipped  from  the  State  for  treat- 
ment. 


The  following  assays  are  appended  : 

Assays,  Gold  Ores , Jane  Vein , McGinn  Mine,  Mecklenburg  County. 

(215)  (216)  (217)  (218)  (219)  (220)  (221) 

Gold,  per  ton $ 2.07  $ 5.17  $ 23.25  8 28.42  $ 99.22  $108.52  S113.6S 

Silver,  per  ton 1.20  1.74  .31  .31  .71  1.65  .77 

$ 3.27  $ 6.91  $ 23.56  $ 28.73  $ 99.93  $110.17  $H4.45 

Copper,  per  cent 8.05)5  4.55? 

Assays,  Ores  from  Copper  Vein,  McGinn  Mine , Mecklenburg  County. 


Gold,  per  ton 

..  $ 5.17 

(223) 

...  $ 10.85..... 

(2241 

$ 12  40 

Silver,*  per  ton 

1.74 

1.65 

1.20 

$ 6.91 

$ 12.50 

$ 13.60 

Copper,  per  cent 

-.  7.50? 

4.55? 

8.05? 

The  Means  Mine 

is  situated 

2 mile  nearly 

southeast  from  the 

Capps.  By  some  investigators  it  is  thought  to  be  a continuation 
of  the  Jane  and  by  others  of  the  Capps  vein,  but  it  scarcely  seems 
probable  that  either  of  these  opinions  is  correct. 

The  vein  has  been  worked  at  different  points,  and  in  the  al- 
lace shaft  to  a depth  of  175  feet.  The  present  work  is  at  a ver- 
tical depth  of  25  feet  (36  feet  on  the  incline),  but  preparations 
are  being  made  for  sinking  to  a new  level.  The  exposure  at  the 
f'M'W'  ~4  " face  the  drift  on  the  25  foot  level  is 
VAWyA/  f / represented  in  the  accompanying  sec- 
tion  (fig.  Id).  The  strike  at  this  point 

Fig. 14.  Showing  Section  across  •„  XT  oxo  iao  y nrps  eflrvv  much 

Ore;body  in  Means  Mine.  IS  IN  . DO  —40  ±L.  1 lie  Oie&CdllN  mucn 


MECKLENBURG  COUNTY  MIXES. 


139 


ehalcopyrite.  The  precious  metal  content  is  shown  by  the  fol- 
lowing assays. 

Assays , Ores  from  the  Means  Mine , Mecklenburg  County. 

(225)  (226) 

Gold,  per  ton $ 7.02 $ 28.44 

Silver,  per  ton  1.65 1 94 

$ 8.67  $ 30.38 

The  Hopewell  (or  Kerns)  Mine  is  11  miles  northwest  of 
Charlotte.  It  yielded  well  in  former  years.  The  last  work  was 
done  at  the  depth  of  140  feet.  • Conflicting  statements  have  been 
made  respecting  the  amount  and  value  of  the  ore  at  this  depth. 
The  manager’s  statement  is  that  at  the  depth  of  80  feet  there 
were  two  veins  aggregating  5 feet  in  width,  and  at  140  feet  a two 
foot  vein  of  good  yellow  copper  ore.  Some  assays  of  the  ore 
from  this  mine  show  : 

Assays , Ores  from  the  Hopewell  Mine,  Mecklenburg  County. 

(227)  (228)  (229) 

Gold,  per  ton $ 4.13 $ 12.40 $ 16.53 

Silver,  per  ton trace trace 1.10 

$ 4.13  $ 12.40  $ 17.63 

Copper, percent - 18.83:6  17:08:6 12.23:6 

The  Green  C.  Cathey  Mine,  8 miles  northwest  of  Charlotte, 
carries  copper  ores,  and  has  been  explored  sufficiently  to  develop 
an  ore  body  of  good  grade.  Some  assays  of  ore  from  this  mine 
show  : 

Assays,  Ores  from  the  O.  C.  Cathey  Mine,  Mecklenburg  County. 

(230)  (231)  (232) 

Gold,  per  ton $ 8.27 $ 7.23 $ 14  47 

SUver,  per  ton 1.23  3.88 39 

$ 9.50  $11.11  $ 14.86 

Copper,  per  cent 14.S4;6 25.40:6 

The  Sloan  mine  adjoins  the  G.  C.  Cathey,  and  has  been  worked 
to  a depth  of  40  feet. 

The  Chapman  (or  Alexander)  Mine  is  in  the  same  vicinity, 
near  the  Kozzel’s  Ferry  road.  It  has  been  worked  to  a depth  of 
110  feet,  and  at  90  feet  levels  have  been  driven  75  feet  in  either 
direction. 

The  length  of  the  vein  on  the  property  is  900  feet ; the  strike 
is  FT.  20°  W.,  and  the  dip  65°  to  70°  FT.  E.  The  vein  matter  is 
made  up  of  silicified  schists  with  seams  of  brown  ore  and  quartz  ; 
in  depths  sulphurets  are  abundant.  The  width  of  the  vein  occa- 
sionally reaches  9 to  10  feet,  but  the  ore  seams  range  from  4 


140 


GOLD  DEPOSITS  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


inches  to  2?  feet-  in  thickness.  Some  assays  of  average  samples 
from  the  head  of  the  north  and  south  level  gave  £12  to  £13  per 
ton.  An  assay  of  an  average  sample  of  the  brown  ore  seams  ran 
$28  ; and  of  the  dump-pile,  after  sorting  out  the  sulphurets,  £13.' 
The  sulphurets,  which  had  been  sorted  out,  gave  £48.00.  Other 
assays  of  the  ore  from  this  mine  gave  : 

Assays,  Ores  from  the  Chapman  Mine , Mecklenburg  County. 

(213)  (234)  . (235)  (236)  <237) 

Gold,  per  ton $ 4.13 $ 20.6T $ 22.74  $ 23.77 ....  $ 35.14 

Silver,  per  ton trace trace 1.2h 1.10 74 

$ 4.13  $ 20.67  $ 24.03  $ 24.87  $ 35.88 

The  Dunn  Mine  is  2 miles  northwest  from  the  Alexander, 
towards  Rozzel’s  ferry,  on  the  west  side  of  Long  creek. 

It  was  the  first  mine  discovered  in  the  county,  not  long  after 
the  finding  of  the  nuggets  at  the  Reed  mine  in  Cabarrus  county, 
in  the  first  years  of  the  present  century. 

The  “East  vein”  was  the  first  to  be  mined,  but  the  ore  soon 
changed  to  copper  pyrites,  which,  though  auriferous,  proved  to  be 
too  refractory  to  he  treated  by  the  methods  then  in  vogue,  and 
the  vein  was  abandoned  after  working  to  a depth  of  20  feet. 
Above  this  point  the  ores  were  mostly  peroxidized.  The  vein  is  6 
to  12  inches  wide;  its  course  is  nearly  north  and  south,  and  its 
dip  west. 

The  deposit  which  has  been  most  largely  worked  is  known  as 
the  Main  vein — a body  of  slates  bearing  northeast  and  south- 
west, and  dipping  southeast  at  an  angle  of  nearly  45°.  This 
body  of  slates  extends  across  the  property  for  a distance  of  i 
mile  along  its  outcrop.  It  contains  deposits  of  quartz  and  brown 
ores  (including  a very  hard  red  hematite,  more  nearly  resembling 
specular  iron),  cellular  quartzose  ores,  and  compact  pyrites, 
including  some  copper  pyrite.  Another  “vein”  is  found  50  feet 
back  of  this,  but  the  sections  indicate  that  the  whole  is  one  body, 
with  a front  and  a hack  seam  of  ore,  and  not  properly  two  veins. 
The  appearance  at  the  60  foot  level,  where  three  bodies  of  ore  are 
seen  within  a few  feet  of  each  other,  gives  strength  to  this  view, 
that  they  are  subordinate  seams  of  the  same  vein,  and  makes  it  a 


MECKLENBURG  COUNTY  MINES. 


141 


not  unreasonable  supposition  that,  they  may  combine  in  depth  to 
form  one  ore  body. 

The  underground  work  consists  of  a shaft  60  feet  deep,  and  a 
second  shaft  of  90  feet,  which  is  considerably  to  the  east  of  the 
veins  ; a cross-cut  has  been  driven  from  the  bottom  of  this  shaft  to 
meet  the  veins.  The  60  foot  shaft  is  connected  with  the  90  foot 
shaft  by  a level  (the  60  foot  level)  across  the  formation.  Three,  if 
not  four  parallel  bodies  of  ore  are  cut  across  by  this  level.  These 
bodies  are  composed  of  siliciiied  slates,  varying  from  3 to  5 feet 
each  in  thickness,  and  with  an  aggregate  thickness  of  not  less  than 
12  feet.  Ho  drifting  had  been  done  on  these  parallel  bodies,  and 
their  character  and  strength  is  not  known. 

The  following  assays  show  the  variation  of  different  samples  of 
ore  : 

Assays,  Gold  Ores,  Dunn  Mine,  Mecklenburg  County. 

(338)  (339)  (340)  (341)  (343) 

GoM,  per  ton $ 8.37 $ 10.33 $ 38.94 $ 13,8.44 $ 36.17 

Silver,  per  ton trace trace 1.94 trace  trace 

$ 8.37  $ 10.33  $ 30.88  $ 138  44  $ 36.17 

Nos.  338  341  were  samples  ot'  ores  from  upper  portion  of  the  mine. 

No.  343  was  a sulphuret  sample. 

♦ 

The  Cathey  Mine  is  5 miles  southwest  of  Charlotte.  A large 
body  of  chalcopyrite  was  uncovered  in  the  workings,  and  the  ore 
was  shipped  from  the  State  for  reduction.  A depth  of  75  feet  was 
attained  when  work  was  suspended. 

The  McCorkle  Mine  is  8 miles  southwest  of  Charlotte.  The 
workings  extended  to  a depth  of  50  feet,  and  the  ores  were  brown 
oxides,  and  iron  pyrites. 

A third  group  of  mines  is  found  from  5 to  7 miles  north  of 
Charlotte,  including  the  Henderson,  Ferris,  and  others. 

The  Henderson  Mine  is  situated  7 miles  north  of  Charlotte. 
The  longitudinal  extent  of  the  workings  appear  to  have  been 
fully  300  feet.  The  strike  of  the  vein  is  H.  40°  E.,  and  the  dip 
S.  E.  The  deepest  shaft  is  100  feet,  and  three  bodies  of  ore 
were  worked  from  it ; they  vary  in  size  from  1 J to  4 feet  in  thick- 
ness ; in  the  lower  workings  the  sulphurets  predominate,  but 
the  brown  ores  had  not  entirely  disappeared.  Assays  show  vari- 
ations from  $14  to  $75  per  ton. 


142 


GOLD  DEPOSITS  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


The  .John  P.  Hunter  Mines  are  situated  from  1 to  2 miles 
southwest  of  the  Henderson.  Judging  from  the  outcrops  and 
the  float  ore,  there  appear  to  he  5 veins  ; hut  only  one  of  these 
has  been  prospected,  and  that  only  to  a depth  of  25  feet.  The 
strike  is  1ST.  40°  E.,  and  the  dip  S.  E.  The  Elwood  vein  is  \ 
mile  further  west. 

The  Ferris  (Faires)  Mine  is  situated  6 miles  north  of  Char- 
lotte. There  are  two  veins  on  this  tract,  and  a third  on  an 
adjoining  tract.  The  two  veins  first  mentioned  are  believed  to 
unite  towards  the  south,  and  to  form  the  third  vein  alluded  to — 
the  Garris  vein. 

The  “Xorth”  vein  has  been  worked  most  extensively.  The 
“South”  vein  is  300  to  400  feet  southwest  of  the  former;  it 
strikes  1ST.  25°  E.,  and  dips  45°  S.  E.  In  width  it  varies  from  2 to 
7 feet,  and  has  a pay  streak  from  18  inches  to  4 feet  wide.  The 
rich  brown  ores  of  the  upper  levels  give  place  at  greater  depths 
to  sulphurets,  and  at  the  90  foot  level  these  are  quite  compact. 
The  ores  carry  some  ehalcopyrite.  The  following  tables  give  the 
results  of  assays  of  both  the  brown  ores  and  the  sulphurets  : 
Assays , Brown  Ores , Ferris  Mine , Mecklenburg  County. 


Gold,  per  ton 

Silver,  per  ton 

(243) 

$ 13.43 

2.80 

(244) 

$ IS. 60 
1.81 

(245)  (246) 

$ 28.94  $ 40.31 

trace  4.72 

(247) 

$111.62 

trace 

(248) 

$126.09 

2.57 

$ 16.23 

$ 20.41 

$ 28.91  $ 45  03 

$111.62 

$128.66 

Copper,  per  cent 

14.23# 

Assays , Sulphurets,  Ferris  Mine,  Mecklenburg  County. 

(249) 

(250) 

(251) 

Gold,  per  ton 

Silver,  per  ton 

$ 40.31... 

4.72... 

$ 72.34 

trace 

. $506.41 
7.52 

$ 45.03 ' 

$ 72.34 

$513.93 

Copper,  per  cent 

13.66# 

The  Garris  vein  is  the  one  at  present  worked.  It  shows  a 
large  outcrop,  and  is  entered  by  two  shafts,  one  90  feet  and  the 
other  120  feet  deep.  The  vein  fissure  strikes  X.  25°  E.,  and 
dips  70°  X.  W.  It  is  stated  to  vary  from  2£  to  5 feet  in  width, 
and  is  composed  of  seams  up  to  12  inches  in  thickness  of  milky 
quartz,  carrying  iron  and  some  copper  sulphurets,  and  separated 
by  hydromicaceous  schists.  The  ores  are  worked  in  a Chilian 
mill  of  3 tons  capacity.  It  is  stated  that  the  quartz  contains 
nearly  *25  per  cent,  sulphurets,  the  concentrates  from  which 


MECKLENBURG  COUNTY  MINES. 


143 


assay  $45  to  $60  per  ton.  Some  assays  of  ore  from  this  vein 
give  the  following  results  : 

Assays , Gold  Ores , Garris  Vein , Ferris  Mine , Mecklenburg  County. 

Gossan.  Kidney  Ore. 

(252)  (253) 

Gold,  per  ton $ 5.17 $53.74 

Sliver,  per  ton trace trace 

$ 5 17  $53.74 

Other  mines  in  this  group  are  the  Alexander,  northwest  of  the 
Ferris,  and  the  ISTolan  and  Caldwell  mines. 

A fourth  group  of  mines  is  situated  in  Providence  township 
near  Sardis  church,  some  5 to  10  miles  southeast  of  Charlotte  : 
among  others  the  Hunter,  Tredinick,  and  Ray  mines. 

The  Hunter  Mine  is  5 miles  southeast  from  Charlotte,  near 
Sardis  church.  There  are  two  veins,  and  outcroppings  of  sev- 
eral others,  but  there  is  no  record  of  the  amount  of  work  done, 
nor  of  the  extent  of  the  ore  bodies.  Recent  explorations  show 
a small  amount  of  ore  still  accessible,  assays  of  which  ran  from 
$20  to  $45  per  ton. 

The  Tredinick  Mine  is  7 miles  southeast  of  Charlotte.  It 
has  been  prospected  to  a depth  of  80  feet,  and  for  a length  of  200 
to  300  feet.  The  vein  is  1 to  2 feet  wide,  and  carries  a relatively 
large  amount  of  copper  minerals. 

The  Ray  Mine  is  situated  from  9 to  9?  miles  southeast  of 
Charlotte,  and  within  one  mile  of  Matthews.  It  is  the  property 
of  the  Baltimore  and  North  Carolina  Mining  Company,  comprising 
360  acres  of  land.  There  are  5 veins  with  an  aggregate  length 
of  about  4 miles.  The  South  vein  has  been  worked  to  a depth 
of  about  60  feet,  and  the  Phifer  Grove  vein  to  a depth  of  40 
feet.  The  mine  material  from  both  was  free-milling  brown  ore. 
The  Ray  vein,  the  best  known  of  them  all,  is  entered  by  6 shafts, 
the  deepest  being  250  feet.  The  ore  seam  is  6 to  8 inches  thick, 
and  is  tilled  with  nearly  compact  sulphnrets.  Most  of  the  ore, 
down  to  the  120  foot  level,  has  been  stoped  out.  The  levels  from 
the  southernmost  shaft  uncovered  a large  and  fine  body  of  aurif- 
erous chalcopyrite.  The  following  assays  of  ore  from  this  mine 
are  appended  : 

10 


144 


GOLD  DEPOSITS  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


Assays,  Gold  Ores , Ray  Vein,  Ray  Mine , Mecklenburg  County. 

(254)  (255)  (256 1 

Gold,  per  ton $ 20.67 $ 31.01 $ 223.23 

• Silver  per  ton 32 97 3.88 

$ 20.99  $ 31.98  $ 227.11 

Assays , Gold  Ores , Phifer  Grove  Vein , Ray  Mine , Mecklenburg  County. 

(257)  (258) 

Gold,  per  ton $ 20.67. $ 31.00 

Silver,  per  ton 32 97 

$ 20.99  $ 31.97 

The  Pioneer  Mills  group  of  mines  in  Cabarrus  county  (see  p.125) 
extends  into  the  southeastern  part  of  Mecklenburg  county.  The 
Johnson,  Stinson,  Rhea,  Maxwell,  Simpson,  and  Black  mines 
belong  here. 

The  Simpson  Mine  is  in  Clear  Creek  township,  10  miles  east  of 
Charlotte.  The  property  has  several  veins,  which  carry  quartzose 
ores,  with  a little  sulpliurets,  including  chalcopyrite.  Assays  of  the 
ore  show  values  from  $1.00  to  $45.00  per  ton. 

The  Black  Mine , 10  miles  east  of  Charlotte,  has  a small  but 
very  rich  vein  of  brown  ore,  of  which  assays  show  values  from 
$50.00  to  $236.00. 

In  Clear  Creek  township,  10  to  12  miles  a little  south  of  east 
from  Charlotte,  is  an  interesting  group  of  mines.  The  grouping 
comprises  two  series  of  veins  striking  in  diverse  directions  ; one 
approximately  northeast  and  southwest,  and  the  other  A.  60°  AV. 

Of  the  northeast  and  southwest  running  series  the  most  northerly 
vein  is  the  Beaver,  k mile  east  of  Mungo's  store  ; then  two  parallel 
veins,  the  Brafford  and  Ellington  ; and  about  300  yards  still  fur- 
ther south,  the  Surface  Hill. 

The  Ellington  in  its  middle  portion  is  known  as  the  Blair,  and 
in  its  southwestern  continuation  as  the  Hard  Hill  vein. 

The  second  series  of  veins  (northwest  and  southeast  running)  is 
something  like  one  mile  further  west,  and  I mile  southwest  ot 
Mungo’s  store.  The  mines  in  their  order,  commencing  at  the 
north,  are:  The  Ferguson  Hill,  A.  J.  AVilson,  Shaffer,  and  the 
Poplin. 

The  Survey  has  no  detailed  information  respecting  the  Beaver, 
the  Brafford  or  the  Ellington. 


MECKLENBURG  COUNTY  MINES. 


145 


The  Surface  Hill  Mine  has  long  been  known  for  its  large 
yield  of  nuggets.  It  is  situated  on  a high  plateau  in  Clear  Creek 
township,  from  which  flow  McAlpine’s  creek  to  the  southwest, 
Reedy  creek  to  the  northeast,  and  Clear  creek  to  the  southeast. 

The  country  rock  is  granite,  which  is  apparently  intersected  by 
a system  of  reticulated  quartz  veins  or  veinlets  ; and  these,  in  con- 
sequence of  the  general  disintegration,  have  scattered  their  con- 
tents widelj7  over  and  beyond  the  66  acres  comprising  the  tract- 
There  appear,  moreover,  to*  be  two  veins  of  some  size  crossing 
each  other,  viz  : the  main  or  Harris  vein  striking  H.  45°  E.,  and 
the  Lidner  or  Yivian  vein  striking  H.  10°  W. 

The  rich  pocket  of  nuggets,  which  has  given  the  mine  its  celeb- 
rity, appears  to  lie  near  the  junction  of  the  two  veins,  and  a little 
to  the  north,  where  a dike  has  cut  across  them.  It  is  stated  that 
the  nuggets  were  found  most  abundantly  between  the  dike  and  the 
north  end  of  the  Harris  vein.  It  is  quite  certain  that  several 
thousand  pennyweights  must  have  come  from  the  space  of  a few 
square  feet. 

A considerable  amount  of  brown  ore  of  good  appearance,  carry- 
ing copper  sulphurets,  has  been  mined  in  the  process  of  hunting 
for  nuggets,  but  as  an  ore  it  is  of  little  value,  despite  its  fine 
appearance.  Assays  show  but  $2.00  to  $3.00  per  ton. 

The  A.  J.  Wilson  Mine  was  first  opened  in  the  early  part  of 
1895,  to  a depth  of  30  feet.  The  vein  is  of  considerable  width  but 
has  not  been  exposed  from  wall  to  wall.  The  pay  streak  was 
from  8 to  14  inches,  carrying  compact  hematite  and  some  pyrite. 
The  strike  is  1ST.  63°  W.,  and  the  dip  55°  H.  E.  The  assay  of  an 
average  sample  showed  $13.80  per  ton. 

Little  is  known  of  the  Shaffer,  Ferguson  Hill  and  Poplin  mines, 
all  of  which  have  been  extensively  worked,  but  whose  records 
have  long  since  disappeared. 

On  the  Elliotte  plantation,  5 miles  south  of  Charlotte,  are  6 
veins,  but  none  have  been  prospected.  Five  of  these  are  grouped 
in  a space  of  J mile ; they  range  from  3 to  6 feet  in  thickness,  and 
carry  quartz,  brown  ore  and  sulphurets.  Assays  of  the  ores  show 
results  ranging  from  $6.00  to  $45.00  per  ton  of  gold  and  silver, 
and  some  copper. 


CHAPTER  VI. 


THE  KINGS  MOUNTAIN  BELT  AND  ITS  GOLD  DEPOSITS. 

This  belt  occupies  an  area  of  indefinite  and  imperfectly  known 
boundax-ies,  adjoining  the  Carolina  Igneous  Belt  on  the  west.  The 
localities  in  which  mines  are  situated  are  few  and  widely  scattered, 
in  Gaston,  Lincoln,  Catawba,  Davie  and  Yadkin  counties. 

The  country  rocks  are  crystalline  schists  and  gneisses,  and  occa- 
sional lenticular  bodies  of  siliceous,  magnesian  limestone  and  beds 
of  quartzite.  The  strike  of  the  schistosity  is  northeast,  and  the 
dip  usually  westward,  at  steep  angles.  The  gneisses  are  micaceous  ; 
the  schists,  micaceous,  chloritic,  argillaceous,  and  sometimes  gra- 
phitic. Pegmatite  dikes  are  frequent  in  some  localities,  and  in 
the  Kings  Mountain  distinct  of  Gaston  and  Cleveland  counties 
they  are  tin-bearing.  The  quartzites  are  apparently  confined  to 
the  higher  ledges  of  Kings,  Crowders,  Anderson,  etc.,  mountains, 
a line  of  isolated  peaks  and  ridges  stretching  from  the  South  Caro- 
lina line  northeastward.  The  limestone  occurs  along  the  foothills 
and  low  lands  bordering  these  ridges,  in  small,  irregular  lenticular 
bodies,  usually  separated  by  slates  or  schists,  and  often  buried 
without  cropping  out  on  the  surface. 

GASTON  COUNTY. 

The  Kings  Mountain  (oe  Catawba)  Mine1  is  situated  II  miles 
nearly  south  of  Kings  Mt.  station  on  the  Southern  E.  E.  It  lies 
in  the  narrow  limestone  belt,  which  skirts  the  western  base  of 
Kings  and  Crowders  mountains. 

The  ore  is  a mixture  of  the  siliceous  magnesian  limestone  and 
. quartz,  and  exists  in  large  lenticular  chimneys,  pitching  to  the 
northeast.  The  strike  is  N.  20°  E.,  and  the  dip  15°  to  60°  west- 
ward. It  is  stated  that  five  ore  lenses  or  chimneys,  which  extend 
to  the  surface,  have  been  opened.  In  length  they  reach  100  feet, 

'Geological  Report  of  tlie  Midland  Counties  of  North  Carolina  . E.  Emmons,  1S56.  pp.  16S, 
169. 


GASTON  COUNTY CROWDER’S  MOUNTAIN  MINE. 


147 


and  in  width  20  feet.  They  are  separated  by  black,  graphitic 
slate,  carrying  coarse  crystalline  iron  pyrites,  which  are,  however, 
stated  to  be  barren.  The  total  width  of  the  ore  bearing  ground  is 
fronT60  to  150  feet.  At  one  point  in  the  mine  the  limestone  is 
horizontally  banded,  blue  and  white  ; the  schistosity  of  the  slates  is 
at  a steeper  angle,  and  it  would  appear  that  both  the  limestone 
and  slate  were  sedimentary. 

The  gold  is  present  largely  in  the  free  state  ; the  sulphurets 
(pyrite,  chalcopyrite  and  galena)  aggregate  from  2 to  3 per  cent ; 
tellurides  are  of  occasional  occurrence. 

The  mine  was  discovered  in  1831,  and  is  said  to  have  yielded 
$750,000.00  during’its  past  history.  It  has  been  opened  to  a depth 
of  320  feet,  and  was  last  worked  in  a small  way  during  the  past 
summer  (1895).  The  equipment  consists  of  a 30  stamp  mill  with 
5 True  vanners. 

The  value  of  the  ore  is  difficult  to  estimate  intelligently.  Various 
assays  show  the  following  results  : 


Assays , Gold  Ores , Kings  Mt.  Mine,  Gaston  County. 


Gold,  per  ton 

Silver,  per  ton 

(259) 

$ 2.27 

trace  ... 

(260) 

...$  310.. 
...  .32... 

(261) 

$ 3.93.... 

23... 

(262) 
...$  4.96.. 
..  .trace.. 

(263) 

$ 5.17... 

62.... 

(264) 

...$  6.21.. 
...trace.. 

(265) 
....$  6.21 
77 

8 2.27 

8 3.42 

$ 4.16 

$ 4.96 

$ 5.79 

$ 6.21 

$ 6.98 

Gold,  per  ton 

Silver,  per  ton 

(266) 

$ 12.40... 

1.58... 

(267) 

..$  16.33  .... 
..  1.97 

(268) 

..$  39.27 

- 1.76 

' (269) 
..$  76.48 
..  3.36 

$ 13.98 

$ 18.30 

$ 41.03 

8 79.84 

Perhaps  from  $1  to  $6  per  ton  will  be  nearer  the  present  average 
value.  The  fineness  of  the  gold  is  about  920.  The  concentrates 
are  reported  to  run  from  $35  to  $10  per  ton. 

There  is  still  some  placer  ground  to  the  east  of  the  mine  workings. 

The  Crowder’s  Mountain  (or  Caledonia)  Mine  is  1 miles  east 
of  the  Catawba,  and  on  the  east  side  of  Kings  Mt.,  just'  over 
the  gap  between  the  two  mountains.  The  country  rocks  are 
sericitic  and  chloritic  schists,  sometimes  silicified,  and  often  ferru- 
ginous, i.  e.  highly  charged  with  magnetite  or  hematite.  Certain 
narrow  zones  or  belts  of  the  schists  are  slightly  mineralized  with 
iron  and  copper  pyrites  ; occasionally  the  width  of  the  ore  bearing 


148 


GOLD  DEPOSITS  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


belt  rises  to  8 or  l 0 feet.  The  ores  are  commonly  low  in  grade. 
The  results  from  a number  of  assays  are  as  follows  : 

Gold  Ores , Caledonia  Mine , Gaston  County. 

(270)  (271)  (272)  (273)  (274j 

Gold,  per  ton $ 5.17 .$  1.03 $ 3.62 $ 9.10 $ 9.10 

Siler,  per  ton trace trace trace trace 2.71 

$ 5.17  $ 1.03  $ 3.62  $ 9.10  $11.81 

Copper,  per  cent 1 08:5  0.1 6.82* 

The  Patterson  Mine  is  i mile  northeast  of  the  Caledonia,  and 
has  similar  ores. 

The  Rhodes  Mine  is  18  miles  southwest  from  Charlotte.  The 
ore  body  is  auriferous  mica  gneiss ; it  has  been  worked  to  a depth 
of  100  feet,  and  for  a length  of  300  feet.  Galena  is  occasionally 
found. 

The  McLean  (or  Rtjmfeldt)  Mine  is  15  to  16  miles  southwest 
from  Charlotte.  It  has  been  prospected  probably  for  a length  of 
200  yards,  and  to  a depth  of  110  feet.  The  vein  is  filled  with 
quartz  carrying  iron  pyrites,  and  is  from  1 to  6 feet  in  width. 
There  is  still  some  placer  ground  on  the  property. 

The  Duffie  Mine  is  16  miles  Avest  of  Charlotte  on  the  Tucka- 
seegee  road.  The  vein  is  from  2 to  10  feet  wide,  and  has  been 
worked  to  a depth  of  110  feet,  at  which  point  a large  body  of  low 
grade  sulphurets  Avas  found.  Some  assays  show  the  following 
values . 

Assays , Gold  Ores , Duffiie  Mine , Gaston  County. 

(275)  (276)  (277)  (278)  (279)  (280)  (281) 

Gold,  per  ton $ 4.14 $ 5.17 $ 4.92 $ 10.33 $ 12.40 $ 13.43 $ 16.54 

Silver,  xoer  ton trace .75  2.56 91 66 65 5$ 

$ 4.14  $ 5.92  $ 7.48  $ 11.24  $ 13.06  $ 14.08  $ 17.12 

The  Robinson  Mine  adjoins  the  Duffie,  and  its  ores  are  similar 
in  character  to  those  from  that  mine.  Several  assays  of  these  ores 
give  the  following  results  : 

Assays , Gold  Ores , Robinson  Mine , Gaston  County. 

(282)  (283)  (2841 

Gold,  per  ton $ 3.45 $ 4.13 $ 9.31 

Silver,  per  ton trace 13 52 

$ 3.45  $ 4.26  $ 9.83 

The  Derr  and  the  Rhyne  mines  are  about  17  miles  Avest  of  Char- 
lotte. 


GASTON  COUNTY  MINES. 


149 


The  Burrell  Wells  Mine  is  situated  3?  miles  south  of  the 
Dnffie  ; there  are  4 veins;  the  deepest  workings  are  less  than  50 
feet.  Some  spots  of  placer  ground  still  exist,  which  are  washed 
at  intervals. 

The  Oliver  Mine  is  situated  12  miles  northwest  of  Charlotte, 
on  the  west  side  of  the  Catawba  river.  It  is  believed  to  have 
been  among  the  earliest  operated  mines  in  the  section,  and  there 
are  traditions  of  work  here,  which  was  done  prior  to  the  Revolu- 
tionary war.  It  has  been  worked  for  a distance  of  100  yards; 
sulphurets  appeared  at  a depth  of  75  feet,  notably  galena,  which 
was  rich  in  gold. 

The  Farrar  Mine  is  i mile  beyond  the  Oliver. 

The  Long  Creek  Mine  is  situated  6 miles  northwest  of  Dallas, 
the  county  seat.  The  property  comprises  about  600  acres.  There 
are  three  veins,  the  Asbury,  Dixon  and  McCarter  Hill.  The 
country  schists  strike  H . 20°  to  25°  E.,  and  dip  generally  S5C  FT.  W. 
The  quartz  veins  are  approximately  conformable  to  the  schistosity. 
The  Asbury  vein  has  had  some  extraordinarily  rich  shoots  of  ore, 
which  carried  iron  and  copper  pyrites,  galena,  zinc-blende,  mis- 
pickel,  and  carbonate  of  bismuth.  Its  width  was  from  6 to  8 feet. 
It  has  been  opened  by  two  shafts,  45  feet  apart,  and  worked  to  a 
depth  of  nearly  140  feet. 

The  Dixon  vein  has  been  extensively  worked  along  the  surface 
by  pits,  and  two  shallow  shafts,  300  feet  apart,  from  which  drifts 
were  run  79  feet  south  and  107  feet  north.  The  thickness  of  the 
vein  was  a little  over  3 feet. 

The  McCarter  Hill  vein  has  been  entered  by  three  shafts,  within 
a distance  of  about  250  feet,  and  was  stoped  to  a depth  of  160  feet 
in  the  ore  shoot,  which  pitches  to  the  north,  and  increased  longi- 
tudinally, until  at  the  140  foot  level  it  had  a length  in  the  vein  of 
more  than  211  feet ; the  width  ranges  from  4 to  6 feet. 

The  last  work  at  this  mine  was  done  on  the  McCarter  Hill  shoot 
in  1892.  The  assay  value  of  the  ore  mined  is  stated  to  have  been 
$8.00  per  ton,  of  which  about  $3.00  was  saved  in  the  mill,  and  the 
concentrates  ran  $24.00  per  ton. 


150 


GOLD  DEPOSITS  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


LINCOLN  COUNTY. 

There  is  no  mining  work  being  done  in  Lincoln  county,  beyond 
desultory  developments  by  small  parties,  though  several  mines 
have  in  the  past  been  worked  extensively ; prominent  among 
these  latter  are  the  Burton  and  the  Hoke  mines,  near  Lincolnton. 

The  Hoke  Mine  has  been  sunk  to  a depth  of  110  feet,  and 
drifts  run  for  some  length. 

The  Graham  Mine  is  situated  about  4 miles  northeast  of  Iron 
Station  on  the  Carolina  Central  R.  R.  The  vein  is  from  30  to  42 
inches  wide,  and  has  been  prospected  by  pits  along  nearly  100  feet 
of  the  outcrop.  The  ores  contain  some  copper,  and  occasionally 
the  material  becomes  a true  copper  ore. 

CATAWBA  COUNTY... 

In  Catawba  county  the  Shuford  mine  is  the  only  one  where 
regular  operations  are  carried  on. 

The  Shuford  Mine  is  situated  4£  miles  slightly  south  of  east 
from  Catawba  Station  on  the  Western  'North  Carolina  R.  R. 

The  mining  tract  comprises  425  acres,  but  the  workable  portion 
of  this  tract  embraces  only  20  acres.  This  latter  area  is  covered 
with  auriferous  quartz,  and  the  soil  is  also  auriferous.  The  under- 
lying schists  and  gneisses  are  penetrated  by  seams  of  auriferous 
quartz,  which  run  in  every  direction  : but  of  veins,  in  any  mining 
sense  of  that  term,  it  may  be  doubted  if  there  are  any,  although 
some  of  the  seams,  12  inches  or  so  in  thickness,  have  considerable 
persistency  in  length  and  depth,  and  some  general  parallelism  with 
the  schistositv.  The  entire  surface  is  “pay”  material.  The  strike 
of  the  schists  is  N.  30°  E.,  and  the  dip  easterly.  The  mine  is  best 
adapted  to  a combination  hvdraulicking  and  milling  process 
(Dahlonega  method).  The  supply  of  water  is  always  the  most 
important  consideration  in  work  of  this  nature,  and  at  the  Shuford 
the  supply  is  not  large.  The  last  work  was  directed  to  the  explo- 
ration of  the  quartz  seams  in  depth. 

The  A.  D.  Shuford  Mine,  I mile  southeast  from  the  above,  is 
very  similar  in  character. 

Some  work  was  done  in  the  early  part  of  1895  at  Maiden,  about 
5 miles  south  of  Hewton  ; and  at  several  points  near  Kewton,  and 
at  the  McCorkle  and  the  England  mines.  To  these  may  he  added 


MINES  OF  DAVIE  AND  YADKIN  COUNTIES. 


151 


the  Rufty  mine,  just  outside  of  the  limits  of  Catawba  Station,  and 
the  Abernathy,  6 miles  east  of  Maiden. 

DAVIE  COUNTY. 

In  the  gneissoid  rocks  of  Davie  county  there  are  several  locali- 
ties where  gold  has  been  mined  at  one  time  or  another. 

The  Butler  (or  County  Line)  mine  is  8 miles  southeast  of  Mocks- 
ville.  The  ore  body  is  reputed  to  have  been  large,  though  of  low 
grade.  Callahan  Mountain  was  worked  a generation  ago,  but 
with  what  results  is  unknown.  The  Isaac  Allen  mine  is  1 mile 
northwest  of  Mocksville.  There  are  deposits  of  gold  in  Clarksville 
township,  7i  miles  northwest  of  Mocksville  ; also  in  Fulton  town- 
ship, 7 miles  northeast. 

YADKIN  COUNTY. 

The  Dixon  Mine  is  situated  8 miles  southeast  of  Yadkinville, 
the  county  seat.  It  was  discovered  in  189-L  The  following  infor- 
mation is  from  Mr.  Richard  Eames,  Jr.,  M.  E.,  of  Salisbury,  1ST.  C.: 
“The  country  rock  is  decomposed  mica  schist,  sometimes  chloritic, 
and  intersected  in  places  by  diabase  dikes.  The  vein  is  quartz, 
and  on  the  outcrop  showTs  a width  of  4 feet.  It  has  a steep  dip  to 
the  northwest. 

“A  shaft  has  been  sunk  to  a depth  of  35  feet,  at  which  point  the 
vein  bolds  its  width  of  4 feet.  At  this  level  drifts  have  been  run 
50  feet  northeast,  and  60  feet  southwest.  The  vein  from  the  shaft 
holds  good  each  way  for  25  or  30  feet,  where  it  begins  to  be 
broken,  and  runs  off  into  the  laminae  of  the  schists,  making  lenti- 
cular deposits  and  stringers.  At  places  small  stringers  of  kaolinitic 
matter  intersect  the  vein  at  right  angles,  and  are  rich  in  gold  for  a 
distance  of  2 feet  from  the  vein,  beyond  which  point  they  have  no 
trace  of  gold.  The  value  of  the  ore  (quartz)  is  not  uniform,  as  the 
following  assays  will  show  : outcrop  at  shaft,  $36  per  ton  ; 15  feet 
down,  $10  per  ton  ; 35  foot  level,  average,  $7  per  ton  ; rich  speci- 
men in  35  foot  level,  $40  per  ton  ; poorest  looking  white  quartz, 
$2.40.  Milling  results  on  small  lots  have  given  an  average  of  $5 
per  ton. 

“Some  sulphurets  of  iron  and  copper  are  beginning  to  show  in 
the  ere.” 

There  are  no  other  important  occurrences  of  gold  in  Yadkin 
county,  so  far  as  known  at  present. 


CHAPTER  VII. 


THE  SOUTH  MOUNTAIN  BELT  AND  ITS  GOLD  DEPOSITS. 

GENERAL  DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  REGION. 

The  South  Mountains  form  one  of  the  prominent  eastern  out- 
liers of  the  Blue  Ridge,  in  Burke,  McDowell  and  Rutherford 
counties.  This  region  is  the  nucleus  of  one  of  the  important  belts 
of  auriferous  rocks  in  the  State,  and  comprises  an  area  of  some 
250  to  300  square  mile-;,  extending  from  Morganton  to  near  Rutb- 
erfordton,  a distance  of  about  25  miles,  with  an  average  width  of 
10  to  12  miles. 

To  the  north  of  Morganton  the  more  or  less  isolated  occurrences 
of  gold  in  northern  Burke,  Caldwell  and  Wilkes  counties  on  the 
east  side  of  the  Blue  Ridge  may  he  considered  as  belonging  to  this 
general  belt.  So  also,  to  the  south  of  Rutherfordton,  the  deposits 
of  Polk  county,  extending  into  South  Carolina,  will  be  included 
here. 

But  the  South  Mountain  region,  proper,  as  above  outlined,  is  by 
far  the  most  important  part  of  the  belt,  and  will  form  the  principal 
topic  of  the  following  descriptions  and  discussions.  The  accom- 
panying contour  map1,  Plate  XII.,  shows  the  location  of  the  most 
important  gravel  deposits  and  mines  in  this  region. 

TOPOGRAPHIC  FEATURES  OF  THE  REGION. 

The  South  Mountain  range  rises  to  a maximum  altitude  of  3,000 
feet  above  sea  level.  The  average  elevation  above  the  sea  of  the 
old  base  level,  which  is  a prominent  feature  in  this  region,  is  1,300 
feet.  This  old  plateau  is  dissected  by  the  drainage,  and  gradually 
descends  to  1,100  feet  above  sea  level  at  the  Catawba  river,  the 
main  stream  on  the  noith.  The  country  is  drained  ori  these  north- 

' From  revised  surveys  of  the  U.  S.  Geological  Survey,  made  >u  1894.  by  Mr.  Chas.  E. 
Cooke,  topographer.  To  such  persons  as  may  he  particularly  interested  in  this  region, 
the  Geological  Survey  will  be  glad  to  supply  with  a map,  ot  larger  scale,  with  50  foot 
contours. 


THE  BECHTLEK  COINAGE. 


153 


ern  slopes  by  Silver  and  Muddy  creeks,  flowing  into  the  Catawba 
river,  and  on  the  south  by  the  First  Broad  and  the  Second  Broad 
rivers. 

HISTORICAL:  THE  BECHTLER  COINAGE. 

Gold  was  first  discovered  in  Burke  county  in  1S28  in  the  bed  of 
Brin  die -creek,  one  of  the  small  tributaries  of  Silver  creek,  which 
has  its  source  in  the  South  mountains.1  Soon  every  stream  in  the 
neighborhood  was  prospected  and  panned  with  golden  success. 
Large  slave  owners  found  a new  and  profitable  use  for  their  slaves, 
and  many  thousands  of  them  were  put  to  work  in  this  new  field. 
Placer  mines  were  opened  and  operated  on  a large  scale,  though 
by  primitive  methods,  the  pan,  rocker,  long  tom,  and  sluice  box 
being  the  only  implements  at  that  time — and,  indeed,  these  are 
still  used  in  portions  of  this  region  to-day.  Mining  was  at  first 
confined  to  the  stream  gravels,  which  were  generally  rich.  Later 
on  the  upper  decomposed  layer  of  the  country  rock  and  the  more 
ancient  placers,  formed  by  secular  disintegration  and  drift,  were 
worked.  A large  amount  of  gold  was  produced  in  this  way,  but 
it  is  impossible  to  even  approximate  the  amount,  as  absolutely  no 
records  were  kept.  The  best  authorities  place  the  amount  at 
between  two  and  three  million  dollars. 

There  being  but  one  P.  S.  mint  established  by  the  government 
at  that  time  (at  Philadelphia),  and  the  means  of  transportation  to 
that  distance  being  attended  with  difficulty  and  great  loss  of  time, 
the  miners  naturally  looked  about  for  some  other  means  of  con- 
verting their  gold  into  a circulating  medium  on  the  spot.  In  1831 
a German,  named  Christian  Bechtler,  a jeweler  by  trade,  living 
about  3 miles  from  Rutherfordton  in  Rutherford  county,  proposed 
to  the  miners  that  he  would  coin  their  gold  for  a small  percentage. 
His  proposition  was  accepted,  and  a large  quantity  of  gold  was 
coined  in  one,  two  and  a- half,  and  five  dollar  pieces,  with  the  name 
of  “C.  Bechtler,  Rutherford  County,  FT.  C.,”  on  one  face,  and  on  the 
reverse  side  the  value,  number  of  grains,  and  carats  fine.  The 
United  States  government  instituted  an  investigation  and  upon 
finding  that  the  assay  value  of  the  coins  was  always  equal  to,  if  not 


1 The  story  of  the  first  discovery  is  given  hy  Col.  T.  G.  Walton,  of  Morganton,  N.  C.,  in  an 
article  which  appeared  in  the  Morganton  Herald  oi  March  15th.  1891. 


154 


GOLD  DEPOSITS  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


somewhat  greater  than  the  denominational  value,  their  circulation 
was  not  disturbed.  The  percentage  paid  by  the  bullion  holders 
for  coinage  was  2i  per  cent.  Bechtler  continued  the  mintage  of 
these  coins  until  his  death  in  1843,  after  which  his  nephew,  C. 
Bechtler,  Jr.,  continued  until  June,  1857.  Sometimes  as  much  as 
$4,000  to  $5,000  were  coined  in  a week,  and  for  about  TO  years 
the  annual  quantity  was  pretty  equal.  As  no  records  of  the  quan- 
tities coined  are  in  existence,  it  is  impossible  to  even  estimate  the 
amounts  of  gold  consumed  here.1 

These  coins  are  now  rare,  and  command  a premium. 

GENERAL  GEOLOGIC  AND  PETROGRAPHIC  NOTES. 

The  subaerial  decay  of  the  rocks  is  universal,  and  extends  to  a 
depth  exceeding  100  feet  in  places  ; though  the  average  thickness 
of  the  decomposed  layer  may  be  taken  at  about  50  feet.  This 
fact  will  explain  one  of  the  great  difficulties  in  studying  the  litho- 
logy, not  only  in  this,  but  in  every  other  portion  of  the  State. 

The  rocks  of  the  South  Mountain  Region  are  for  the  most  part 
mica  and  hornblende  gneisses  and  schists,  having  an  eminently 
lenticular  structure.  They  are  often  garnetiferous,  and  contain 
besides,  many  rare  minerals,  especially  those  of  the  rare  earths, 
such  as  zircon,  monazite,  xenotime,  fergusonite,  etc.  The  primary 
origiiTof  these  gneisses  is  looked  upon  as  being  igneous  granitic 
and  dioritic  rocks  of  Arckean  age,  which  have  subsequently  been 
rendered  schistose  by  the  action  of  various  dynamic  forces. 

Owing  to  frost  action  the  superficial  layers  of  the  country  rock, 
especially  along  the  slopes  of  ridges,  have  undoubtedly  suffered 
motion  and  displacement2  ; in  many  instances,  therefore,  the  surface 
dips^of  the  schistose  laminae  must  be  considered  anomalous. 

The  general  strike  of  the  schistosity  may  be  taken  at  X.  10°  to  25° 
W.,  and  the  dip  20°  to  35°  X.  E.  This  applies  to  the  central  part 
of  the  region.  To  the  northwest  of  South  Muddy  Creek  and  J ein 
Mt.,  and  in  Caldwell,  etc.,  counties,  the  strike  is  generally  north- 
east, and  the  dip  southeast. 

1 Report  oil  the  Survey  of  South  Carolina  for  1857,  by  O.  M.  Lieber.  p.  135. 

2 On  the  Action  of  Frost  in  the  Arrangement  of  Superficial  Earthy  Material.  By  W. 
C Kerr.  Am.  Jour.  Sci.,  1881,  Vol.  21,  III./  p.  125  : and  Ores  of  North  Carolina,  Appendix 
C,  1SS7,  p.  339. 


GEOLOGIC  AND  PETROGRAPHIC  NOTES. 


155 


The  mica  gneisses  are  composed  essentially  of  quartz,  feldspar 
and  mica.  Both  muscovite  and  biotite  are  present,  the  latter 
usually  predominating.  Phlogopite  is  of  rare  occurrence,  as  in 
the  gneiss  near  the  headwaters  of  South  Muddy  creek,  at  the 
old  Bracket-town  reservoir.  All  of  the  feldspars,  from  the  potash 
to  the  lime-soda  types,  are  present  at  various  times.  Plagioclase 
appears  to  predominate,  especially  in  the  more  basic  phases  of  the 
rock.  Micro-perthitic  intergrowths  were  noticed  in  many  speci- 
mens, and  microcline  is  common.  Hornblende  and  pyroxene  are 
altogether  absent,  or  present  only  to  small  extent,  in  the  acid 
mica  gneisses,  increasing  in  quantity  and  becoming  essential 
minerals  in  the  more  basic  hornblende  gneisses.  The  hornblendes 
usually  show  greenish  pleochroism,  sometimes  verging  to  brown- 
ish in  color.  The  extinction  angles  are  often  very  high,  as  in  the 
hornblende  gneiss  from  the  Bracket-town  shaft,  McDowell 
county,  where  it  reaches  30°  ; however,  the  cross-sections  are 
usually  good  and  characteristic.  The  pyroxenes  are  monoclinic, 
in  most  cases  apparently  augite.  They  are  colorless  and  non- 
pleochroic. 

The  usual  accessory  constituents  of  these  gneisses  are  magne- 
tite, pyrite,  titanic  iron  ore,  garnet,  zircon,  monazite,  and  other 
rare  minerals. 

Alteration  products  are  numerous.  The  micas  are  frequently 
altogether  gone  over  into  hydrous  varieties  and  carbonates;  and 
bleached  biotites  are  common.  The  feldspars  are  always  affected 
to  some  extent,  being  at  times  partially,  and  often  completely, 
altered  to  kaolin  or  sericite.  Propyllitic  changes  to  epidote  or 
zoisite  are  not  uncommon.  The  ferro-magnesian  minerals  alter 
to  chlorite  and  epidote.  Zeolitic  alterations  are  seldom  met  with. 

These  various  alterations  have  in  places  proceeded  to  such  an 
extent  as  to  entirely  obliterate  the  original  character  of  the 
gneiss  ; and  one  of  the  best  examples  is  ,met  with  in  certain  por- 
tions of  the  mine  rock  from  the  Bracket-town  shaft,  where  the 
changes  may  be  followed  from  fairly  fresh  specimens.  This 
altered  rock  is  light  greenish  in  color  and  fine-grained  in  texture  ; 
macroscopically  the  constituent  minerals  are  indistinguishable, 


156 


GOLD  DEPOSITS  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


and  the  mass  resembles  felsite.  Under  the  microscope,  however, 
small  fragments  of  unaltered  feldspar  are  still  to  he  seen,  though 
the  main  portion  is  entirely  decomposed  to  sericite  and  carbon- 
ates. In  the  hornblendic  gneisses  from  the  samemiine  the  change' 
of  the  ferro-magnesian  minerals  is  to  epidote  and  chlorite. 

Such  phenomena  as  secondary  quartz  and  chlorite  veinlets 
seem  to  point  to  a hydro-metamorphic  action  rather  than  a 
dynamic  one.  The  effect  of  the  latter  force,  however,  is  seen  in 
the  undulous  extinction,  bending,  fracture,  and  other  strain 
phenomena,  exhibited  by  the  minerals. 

It  is  seldom  that  these  rocks  are  porphyritic,  as  observed  in  a 
specimen  collected  from  Brindle  creek  in  Burke  county,  where 
the  phenocrysts  are  plagioclase  crystals  up  to  s inch  in  diameter. 
More  generally  there  is  a homogeneity  in  the  crystalline  structure 
of  the  minerals,  which  is  micro-granitic. 

Relative  to  each  other  the  mica  and  hornblende  gneisses  occur 
in  adjacent  lenticular  banded  masses,  from  a few  inches  to  many 
feet  in  thickness  ; and  it  appears  in  instances  that  they  pass  into 
each  other  by  insensible  transition  phases  between  these  acid  and 
basic  types. 

Pegmatites  are  of  frequent  occurrence  in  the  gneiss,  and  they 
contain  such  fumarole  minerals  as  tourmaline  and  beryl.  Their 
structure  is  usually  lenticular,  like  that  of  the  enclosing  gneisses. 
The  feldspar  is  largely  microcline,  and  the  same  alterations  occur 
as  noted  above  for  the  gneisses. 

At  Brown  Mt.,  in  the  northern  part  of  Burke  county,  the 
country  rock  is  a massive  granite.  True  granitic  rocks,  how- 
ever, besides  the  pegmatites  just  mentioned,  exist  in  the  South 
Mountain  region  proper  only  as  small  dikes,  and  the  general 
rock  decomposition  makes  these  difficult  to  distinguish.  The 
most  pronounced  one  was  found  at  a point  about  ? mile  south- 
west of  Capt.  J.  C.  Mill?’  house  on  the  Rutherfordton  road.  It 
is  3 inches  wide,  with  a strike  R.  20°  AY.,  and  dip  S(B  R.  E.  It 
is  a fine  grained  biotite  granite,  in  which  the  feldspar  is  mainly 
microcline,  with  some  orthoclase  and  micro-pertliite,  and  the 
structure  is  micro-granitic.  Similar  dikes  were  observed  at  the 


. 


N C.  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY. 


1 


BULLETIN  3.  PLATE  XIII. 


PYROXENE  (1)  AND  AMPHIBOLITE  (2)  BLEBBS.— SOUTH  MOUNTAINS. 


GEOLOGIC  AND  PETROGRAPHIC  NOTES. 


157 


Marion  Bullion  mine  (Bracket-town),  and  Amin  Mountain,  in 
McDowell  count}7. 

Massive  crystalline  dioritic  rocks  are  not  uncommon  in  the 
South  Mountain  region,  but  whether  they  exist  as  dike  forma- 
tions or  in  larger  bodies,  it  is  as  yet  difficult  to  say.  It  appears 
probable  that  the  former  may  be  the  case.  They  are  usually  fine 
grained,  and  composed  of  hornblende  and  a plagioclase  feldspar, 
with  very  little  if  any  quartz.  The  hornblendes  show  light  to 
dark  green,  and  at  times  blue  to  brown  pleochroism.  Among  the 
accessory  minerals  apatite  appears  to  be  rather  constant.  The 
decomposition  products  are  the  usual  ones,  namely,  sericite, 
kaolin,  chlorite,  epidote,  etc. 

Gabbroitic  (augit e-plag-ioelase)  rocks  are  seldom  met  with,  in 
fact  the  only  occurrence  noted  was  J mile  south  of  the  White 
House  in  the  western  part  of  Rutherford  county. 

There  are  no  diabase  dikes  in  the  South  Mountain  region 
proper,  but  in  the  northern  part  of  the  general  belt  a heavy 
oli vene-diabase  dike  extends  persistently  from  near  Hartland  in 
Burke  to  the  Baker  mine  in  Caldwell  county,  the  direction  being 
about  M.  20°  W.  At  the  latter  point  it  is  very  wide  and  largely 
altered  to  serpentine. 

Isolated,  basic  ferro-magnesian  masses  of  pyroxenite  and 
amphibolite  occur  sparingly  throughout  the  South  Mountain 
region  as  rounded  inclusions  in  the  gneiss.  They  are  usually 
coarse  crystalline  and  massive,  devoid  of  schistosity.  They  vary 
in  size  from  less  than  one  to  nearly  one  hundred  feet  in  diameter. 
The  schistose  laminae  of  the  gneisses  are  observed  to  bend  around 
these  inclusions,  showing  that  they  were  formed  before  the  force 
producing  schistosity  was  exerted,  which  they  resisted  owing  to 
their  superior  solidity  and  hardness.  These  masses  are  looked 
upon  as  basic  segregations  from  the  original  igneous  magma  out 
of  which  the  gneisses  were  formed.  Their  concentric  structure 
becomes  evident  on  weathering.  So  far  as  present  observations 
go,  their  outcrop  occupies  a broken  line,  following  the  South 
Mountain  chain  in  a direction  approximately  S.  60°  W.  Plate 
XIII  shows  above  (1)  a section  of  one  of  these  smaller  pyroxenite 


158 


GOLD  DEPOSITS  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


blebs,  partly  altered  to  talc,  to  be  seen  in  the  bank  by  the  road 
side,  on  Brindle  ridge,  Burke  county.  The  lower  half  of  this 
plate  (2)  is  from  a photograph  of  a much  larger  amphibolite  bleb, 
which  caps  a low  hill  in  the  Turkey  cove  region,  1 mile  north  of 
Bracket-town,  McDowell  county. 

The  pyroxene  in  these  rocks  is  monoclinic  and  non-pleockroic. 
In  the  amphibolites  the  hornblende  shows  light  green  pleochroism, 
though  in  one  instance  it  was  observed  to  be  bluish  green  to 
yellowish  brown.  The  extinction  angles  are  sometimes  very  high, 
24°  and  even  30°.  The  usual  accessory  minerals  are  magnetite 
and  pyrite,  which  are  sometimes  present  in  considerable  quanti- 
ties. These  rocks  are  universally  altered  to  serpentine  or  talc, 
often  completely  so  ; and  the  serpentine  possesses  the  character- 
istic fibrous  grated  structure,  common  to  that  formed  from  pyrox- 
ene or  amphibole. 

THE  GOLD-BEARING  QUARTZ  VEINS. 

The  auriferous  quartz  veins  of  the  South  Mountain  region  are 
true  fissure  veins.  Indeed  the  fissure  system  is  the  most  regular, 
persistent  and  remarkable,  from  a point  of  almost  absolute  paral- 
lelism, in  the  State.  The  strike  is  M.  60°  to  70°  E.,  and  the  dip  is 
from  70°  to  80°  N.  W.  The  thickness  of  these  veins  varies  from  a 
mere  knife  edge  to  four  feet.  The  great  majority  are  from  less 
than  1 to  3 inches  thick,  the  larger  ones  (1  to  4 feet)  being  few 
and  far  between.  They  appear  to  lie  in  belts,  composed  of  scores 
of  small  veins  close  together,  and  there  seems  to  be  some  regularity 
in  the  spacing  between  the  large  veins.  Faulting  has  been  noticed 
in  but  few  instances,  and  there  the  throw  was  only  from  J to  3 
inches,  always  in  a normal  direction.  At  the  Marion  Bullion  mine 
one  of  the  veins  is  stated  to  be  cut  by  a granitic  dike,  and  thrown  4 
feet  to  the  south  ; but  this  could  not  be  verified,  and  will  require 
some  further  investigation.  The  veins  vary  in  thickness,  both  on 
the  strike  and  in  depth;  but  they  hold  their  parallelism  so  far  as 
at  present  explored  (the  deepest  shaft  in  the  district  is  126  feet)  : 
and  there  is  no  reason  for  supposing,  as  is  the  quite  general 
belief  of  the  natives,  that  they  will  come  together  in  depth  ; in 
fact  this  would  be  unlikely  and  exceptional.  The  veins  themselves, 


DISTRIBUTION  OF  THE  QUARTZ  VEINS. 


159 


it  is  true,  are  sometimes  split  by  “horses”  of  the  country  rock,  and 
at  times  have  stringers  running  off  from  them  at  an  angle,  but 
individually  they  will  preserve  their  parallelism  in  depth. 

The  ore  or  filling  of  the  fissure  veins  is  quartz,  usually  of  a 
milky  white  color,  generally  saecharoidal,  and  seldom,  if  ever, 
vitreous  or  glassy.  It  is  often  stained  brown  and  is  cellular  from 
decomposed  sulphurets.  The  stained,  saecharoidal  quartz  is 
usually  the  richest.  Sulphurets  occur  below  the  water-level ; 
these  are  pyrites,  galena,  chalcopyrite  and  sphalerite.  All  obser- 
vations go  to  chow  that  the  vein  matter  is  formed  from  ascend- 
ing mineralized  solutions.  There  is  no  evidence  of  replacement 
of  the  country  rock  by  ore. 

There  is  another  system  of  quartz  bodies,  which  lie  interlami- 
nated  in  the  gneisses  as  small,  discontinuous  lenses.  This  quartz 
is  glassy,  contains  some  mica  and  feldspar,  and  is  barren.  It  is 
locally  known  as  “water-quartz.” 

DISTRIBUTION  OF  THE  QUARTZ  VEINS. 

The  quartz  veins  appear  to  be  concentrated  in  aggregates  along 
parallel  belts  or  zones  within  the  general  ore  bearing  region.  So 
far  as  can  be  asserted  at  present  there  are  five  (5)  such  principal 
belts.  (This  is  subject  to' revision  on  further  investigation.) 

(1)  The  Morganton  Belt  ; passing  through  Morgan  ton,  along 
Little  Silver  creek,  and  through  the  Neighbor’s  Place  to  near 
North  Muddy  creek. 

(2)  The  Huntsville  Belt,  passing  over  the  southern  end  of 
Huntsville  mountain. 

(3)  The  Pilot  Mountain  Belt,  passing  over  Hall’s  Knob, 
White’s  Knef},  Pilot  Mountain,  Bracket-town  and  Vein  Moun- 
tain, to  and  beyond  the  Second  Broad  river. 

(4)  The  Golden  Valley  Belt,  passing  across  the  upper  end  of 
the  Golden  AMlley  (valley  of  the  First  Broad  river),  and  crossing 
Cane  and  Camp  creeks  to  the  Second  Broad  river. 

(5)  The  Idler  Mine  Belt,  about  three  miles  north  of  Ruther- 
fordton. 


11 


160 


GOLD  DEPOSITS  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


The  maximum  breadth,  in  a north  and  south  direction,  across 
the  ore  bearing  formation  as  a whole  is  about  seventeen  (17) 
miles. 

THE  VALUE  OF  THE  QUARTZ  VEINS. 

It  is  difficult  to  estimate  with  any  degree  of  satisfaction  the 
real  value  of  these  auriferous  quartz  vein  deposits.  Samples  run- 
ning several  hundred  dollars  to  the  ton  maybe  selected  from  the 
richer  portions  of  the  veins,  but  they  are  of  course  not  represent- 
ative. Other  samples  may  show  only  a mere  trace  of  gold  and 
silver.  From  $5  to  $20  per  ton  may  be  considered  the  more  usual 
value  of  the  average  good  grade  of  ore,  dependent  on  the  size  of 
the  vein.  The  wider  veins  are  generally  poorer  in  gold  than  the 
narrow  ones.  Wherever  in  this  region  there  has  been  surface 
mining,  many  boulders  are  seen  piled  up  which  are  evidently 
largely  derived  from  veins  of  considerable  size.  Some  assays  of 
these  large  fragments,  both  from  Brindletown  and  Golden  Valiev 
show  only  from  $1.00  to  $2.50  gold  per  ton.  The  fineness  of  the 
gold  varies  in  different  portions  of  the  region1.  Thus  in  the 
Brindletown  district  it  is  from  825  to  S50  ; in  McDowell  county 
(Marion  Bullion  and  Vein  Mountain  mines)  from  780  to  S00 ; in 
the  Golden  Valley,  Rutherford  county,  900;  and  in  Polk  county 
from  900  to  950. 

METHOD  OF  WORKING  THE  QUARTZ  VEIN  DEPOSITS. 

The  great,  majority  of  these  quartz  veins  are  too  small  to  be 
pirofitably  worked  individually,  on  any  regular  mining  scale. 
The  natives,  both  men  and  women,  often  hunt  for  and  find  the 
rich  streaks  of  the  small  veins,  which  they  mine  in  narrow  open 
cuts,  and  extract  the  gold  by  crushing  with  another  rock  and 
panning.  They  frequently  make  from  75  cents  to  $1.50  per  day 
in  this  way,  of  which  they  are  supposed  to  pay  a toll  or  royalty  of 
g-  to  the  owners. 

When  the  conformation  of  the  ground  admits,  and  the  gulches 
iare  deep  enough,  the  whole  formation,  including  many  of  the 
•small  veins  of  quartz,  may  easily  be  undermined  to  a great  depth, 

'See  article  by  Mr.  G.  B.  Hanna,  Engineering  and  Mining  Journal,  Sept.  IS.  1SS6  : also 
“The  Ores  of  North  Carolina,”  1887,  p.  235. 


SOUTH  MOUNTAIN  REGION PLACER  DEPOSITS. 


161 


and  the  .whole  mass  washed  down  into  sluices,  and  thence  to  the 
mill  for  battery  treatment  and  amalgamation  of  the  auriferous 
quartz  and  hard  masses,  as  is  the  practise  in  the  Dahlonega  dis- 
trict, Georgia. 

At  the  Carolina  Queen  mine  in  Burke  county  there  stands  a 
five  stamp  mill,  which  at  one  time  treated  the  ore  from  a great 
number  of  small  veins  (2  to  d inches),  obtained  by  hydraulicking 
and  sluicing  ; this  mill  is  now  idle.  Capt.  J.  C.  Mills  of  Brindle- 
town,  Burke  county,  has  treated  the  ore  from  a series  of  small 
veins  similarly  in  a small  stamp  mill,  as  he  reports,  quite  suc- 
cessfully ; his  mill  was  destroyed  by  fire  a number  of  years  ago 
and  never  rebuilt. 

Some  of  the  larger  quartz  veins  have  been  opened  by  shafts  and 
underground  drifts,  as  for  instance  the  “Hichols”  vein  (IS  inches 
to  3 feet)  at  Vein  Mountain  in  McDowell  county.  At  the  Idler 
mine  in  Rutherford  county  a vein  22  inches  thick  has  been 
opened  to  a depth  of  probably  100  feet. 

However,  no  vein  mining  of  any  magnitude  has  yet  been  done 
in  the  South  Mountain  region.  It  has  been  altogether  of  a desul- 
tory and  spasmodic  nature.  In  the  whole  region  there  are  but 
two  well  appointed  stamp  mills,  namely  at  the  Vein  Mountain, 
and  the  Carolina  Queen  mines.  The  Marion  Bullion  mine  is 
equipped  with  a Huntington  mill.  Ho  proper  attempt  has  as 
yet  been  made  to  concentrate  and  treat  the  sulphurets.  If,  as 
reported,  there  are  regular  bodies  of  ore  in  the  district,  ranging 
from  18  inches  to  3 feet  in  thickness,  and  running  from  §5  to  £15 
per  ton,  it  seems  difficult  to  understand  why  they  should  not  be 
the  basis  of  highly  profitable  mining  enterprises. 

THE  PLACER  DEPOSITS. 

The  Placer  Deposits  are  of  three  classes  : (1)  The  gravel  beds 

of  the  streams  and  adjoining  bottom  lands,  deposited  by  fluviatile 
action  ; (2)  the  gulch  and  hillside  deposits,  or  the  accumulations 
due  to  secular  disintegration  and  motion,  induced  by  frost  action 
and  gravity  ; (3)  the  upper  decomposed  layer  of  the  country  rock 
itself,  the  rotten  rock  in  place. 


162 


GOLD  DEPOSITS  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


In  the  first  class  the  gravel  is  waterworn,  rounded  to  sub-angu- 
lar, and  the  deposits  are  from  1 to  2 feet  in  thickness.  In  the 
second  class  the  gravel  is  usually  quite  angular,  and  the  depos- 
its are  from  a few  inches  to  several  feet  in  thickness.  In  the 
third  class  gravel  is  of  course  absent,  the  washable  ground  consist- 
ing of  the  upper  decomposed  layer  in  place,  and  the  gold  being 
derived  directly  from  the  partially  disintegrated  quartz  veins. 

The  gravel  is  for  the  most  part  quartz,  and  among  the  beds  are 
frequently  found  fragments  of  quartz  with  threads,  plates,  and 
crystals  of  native  gold.  These  fragments,  in  many  cases,  evi- 
dently represent  the  entire  thickness  of  the  veins  from  which  they 
came. 

DISTRIBUTION  OF  THE  PLACER  DEPOSITS. 

The  principal  stream  deposits  are  those  of  Silver  and  South 
Muddy  creeks  and  their  numerous  tributaries  in  Burke  and 
McDowell  counties ; the  First  Broad  river  and  its  tributaries  in 
Butherford  county,  and  the  Second  Broad  river  with  its  tributa- 
ries in  McDowell  and  Butherford  counties.  All  of  these  streams 
have  their  source  in  the  South  mountains. 

Most  of  the  easily  accessible  stream  deposits  have  been 
exhausted,  and  placer  mining  is  being  more  strictly  confined  to 
the  deep  gravel  channels,  the  gulch,  and  the  decomposed  country 
deposits.  Their  distribution  is  very  general  along  the  bottoms, 
highlands  and  ridges  drained  by  the  previously  mentioned  streams, 
and  the  principal  centers  of  operation  are  at  Brindletown,  Brack- 
et-town and  Mein  Mountain. 

VALUE  OF  THE  PLACER  DEPOSITS. 

As  no  records  have  ever  been  kept  it  is  not  possible  to  say  what 
the  ground  will  yield  in  gold  to  the  cubic  yard.  It  is  naturally 
quite  variable  from  a few  cents  to  as  high  as  820  a cubic  yard.1 
But  it  will  run  more  generally  from  4 to  50  cents. 

The  character  of  this  gold  is  usually  quite  fine,  although  in 
certain  localities  some  coarse  gold  is  found  ; the  largest  nug- 
gets have  been  found  in  a gulch  on  the  western  slope  of 

iOn  Capt.  J.  C.  Mills'  land  at  Brindletown,  Burke  county,  a small  area  of  ground  was 
worked  by  tunneling  ou  a gravel  channel,  and  gave  a daily  yield  of  $160  to  a volume  of 
ground  5 by  7 by  6 feet  (about  8 cubic  yards),  or  $20  per  cubic  yard. 


PLACER  DEPOSITS METHODS  OF  WORKING,  ETC. 


163 


Huntsville  mountain  in  McDowell  county.  One  weighing  five 
(5)  pounds  was  washed  out  here. 

METHODS  OF  WORKING  THE  PLACER  DEPOSITS. 

Simple  sluicing  is  the  common  method  employed  in  working 
these  gravel  deposits.  Both  ground  sluices  and  wooden  sluice 
boxes  are  used.  The  former  are  from  20  to  50  feet  in  length,  20 
inches  wide  and  from  12  to  20  inches  deep;  they  are  simply 
trenches  cut  into  the  soft  bed  rock,  being  unlined  and  unpaved. 
The  wooden  sluice  boxes  are  from  8 to  15  feet  in  length,  12  to  20 
inches  in  depth,  20  inches  in  width  at  the  upper  and  18  inches  at 
the  lower  end,  so  as  to  fit  into  each  other  in  case  more  than  one  is 
used.  Each  box  is  fitted  with  from  one  to  two  riffles.  The  grade 
of  the  sluices  is  from  1J  to  3 inches  per  100  feet.  The  head  box 
is  fitted  with  a “grizzly/’  or  perforated  iron  plate,  on  which  the 
dirt  and  gravel  to  be  washed  are  charged.  The  sluices  are  then 
worked  over  constantly  with  gravel  forks  or  perforated  shovels, 
and  the  larger  rocks  and  pebbles  are  thrown  out. 

The  native  miners,  working  on  their  own  account,  known  as 
“tributers,”  ordinarily  use  a single  sluice  box,  which  they  move  from 
place  to  place,  working  spasmodically  as  the  inclination  strikes 
them.  They  pay  a toll  of  16|  per  cent,  to  the  owners  of  the  land. 
Fron  75  cents  to  $1.00  per  day  is  considered  good  work  by  them. 

At  the  larger  mines  hydraulicking  is  employed,  under  a pres- 
sure of  from  50  to  200  feet,  with  12  inch  mains,  reduced  to  a 1J 
inch  nozzle.  The  hydraulic  elevator  has  also  been  used  success- 
fully in  raising  the  gravel  to  fall  line. 

WATER  SUPPLY  FOR  PLACER  MINING. 

The  numerous  mountain  streams  afford  a fairly  good,  though 
not  over  abundant,  amount  of  water  for  mining  purposes.  These 
streams  are  small  in  size  but  their  flow  is  unfailing  throughout 
all  normal  seasons,  and  they  can  be  concentrated  by  ditch  lines 
in  sufficient  volume  for  sluicing  and  hydraulicking  purposes  at 
many  points.  The  chief  impediment  is  in  the  loss  of  grade 
before  the  mining  ground  in  the  foot-hills  and  bottom-lands  is 
reached,  due  to  the  deep  and  numerous  indentations  in  the  moun- 
tains. Reservoirs  are  sometimes  necessary  to  store  the  water,  in 


164 


GOLD  DEPOSITS  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


order  to  obtain  a requisite  supply  and  head.  It  is  impossible  to 
water  some  portions  of  the  hillside  ground,  except  by  pumping 
into  reservoirs  constructed  above. 

There  are  several  long  ditch  lines,  augmented  by  flumes,  in 
the  region  ; one  of  these  is  over  10  miles  in  length.  The  size  of 
the  ditches  varies  fro?n  12  to  18  inches  across  the  bottom,  20  to 
30  inches  across  the  top,  and  12  to  20  inches  in  depth.  The 
best  grade  is  found  to  be  from  H to  3 inches  per  100  feet. 

A considerable  obstacle  is  often  met  with  in  the  lack  of  sufficient 
dumping  ground  for  the  tailings,  the  grade  of  the  streams  being 
too  small  to  carry  off  all  of  the  sand.  In  some  instances  this 
could  be  overcome  by  freeing  the  larger  streams  from  debris  and 
drift  wood,  and  in  removing  other  natural  impediments,  such  as 
shoals. 

DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  COLD  DEPOSITS  AND  31INES  IN 
THE  SOUTH  MOUNTAIN  REGION. 

BURKE  COUNTY. 

The  Hancock  Mine  is  a placer  digging  situated  at  the  foot  of 
the  northeast  slope  of  Hall’s  Knob.  The  thickness  of  the  gravel 
bed  is  from  1 to  I J feet,  and  that  of  the  overlay  averages  25  feet. 
Directly  above  the  gravel  is  a peaty  bed,  containing  blackened 
steins  and  trunks  of  pine  wood. 

A sluice,  2J  miles  in  length,  brings  the  needed  water  supply, 
with  a head  of  40  to  60  feet.  When  last  visited  (in  the  summer 
of  1895)  the  mine  was  being  worked  on  a small  scale  by  tribu- 
ters.  The  gravel  was  under  fall  which  necessitated  its  being 
worked  in  pits,  and  raised  by  shovel  into  the  sluice  boxes.  A 
rough  estimate  made  of  one  of  these  pits  shows  that  the  yield  was 
about  14  cents  per  cubic  yard. 

The  Carolina  Queen  Mine  is  situated  on  the  northeastern 
slope  of  White’s  Knob,  on  Hall’s  creek.  A series,  of  small  (1  to 
3 inch)  parallel  veins  has  been  hydraulicked  and  sluiced  in  the 
upper  decomposed  ]a}er,  over  a width  of  about  300  feet  of 
ground.  One  of  these  veins  (the  so-called  “Fisher"  vein)  has 


PLACER  DEPOSITS,  FOOT  OF  SOUTH  MOUNTAINS  ON  THE  NORTH.  HANCOCK  MINE. 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY.  BULLETIN  3.  PLATE  XIV. 


BURKE  COUNTY  MINES. 


165 


been  explored  in  a trench  ± mile  long  to  a depth  of  50  feet. 
The  material  \ras  sluiced  to  a 5 stamp  mill  close  by,  where  it  was 
milled.  The  ditch  lines  aggregate  5 to  6 miles  in  length.  The 
strike  of  the  quartz  veins  is  N.  50°  to  60°  E.,  and  the  dip  is  75° 
to  80°  1ST.  W.  The  schistosity  of  the  gneiss  strikes  17.  20°  ¥. 
and  dips  20°  M.  E.  The  mine  is  now  idle.  The  placer  ground 
on  Hall’s  creek  has  been  practically  exhausted. 

The  Kodge  Property  is  situated  on  Silver  creek,  about  35- 
miles  north  of  Pilot  mountain.  It  comprises  considerable  placer 
ground  along  the  creek  and  adjoining  bottoms,  at  present  filled 
with  sand  and  not  workable,  without  the  production  of  some  arti- 
ficial fall.  During  the  summer  of  189-f  a number  of  prospect 
pits  were  sunk  on  the  adjoining  hills  in  garnetiferous,  sillimanite 
schist,  containing  considerable  secondary  quartz,  which  was  mis- 
taken for  gold  ore.  Several  samples,  some  of  which  contained 
pyrite,  were  collected  here  by  the  Survey,  assays1  of  which  showed 
no  more  than  the  merest  trace  of  gold,  and  a maximum  of  1 
ounce  in  silver.  Further  search  for  gold  in  this  ground  is  ill 
advised. 

The  -J.  C.  Mills  Property  at  Brindletown  covers  a large  ter- 
ritory on  both  sides  of  Silver  creek,  including  the  eastern  half  of 
Pilot  mountain. 

A vast  amount  of  gold  has  been  obtained  here  since  the  first 
discovery  in  1828,  and  much  of  the  gravel  has  been  washed  over 
three  times  with  good  results.  Considerable  work  has  been  done 
on  the  hillside  and  gulch  deposits,  and  much  of  this  ground  is 
still  virgin  and  valuable.  Some  of  the  richest  channels  have 
yielded  the  exceptional  output  of  $20  per  cubic  yard.  (See  p.  162.) 

From  Pilot  mountain  and  along  its  lower  slopes  a number  of 
gravel  channels  radiate  in  all  directions,  some  of  which  have 
been  located  and  worked  as  high  as  water  could  be  obtainded, 
such  as  the  White  Bank  and  Magazine  mines.  But  a large 
amount  of  virgin  ground  still  remains  here  that  has  not  been 
worked  for  lack  of  water.  Pilot  mountain  is  an  entirely  isolated 
peak,  and  the  only  means  of  obtaining  water  sufficiently  high 

1 Assays  Nos.  251.  252.  253  of  the  Survey  laboratory  series,  by  Dr.  Chas.  Basfcerville  lor  the 
N.C.  Geological  Survey. 


166 


GOLD  DEPOSITS  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


for  mining  pnposes,  would  be  either  by  pumping  into  reservoirs, 
or  by  means  of  a siphon  line  (about  1 mile  in  length)  from  “Hard 
Bargain”  gap,  to  which  water  could  be  brought  from  the  head- 
waters of  the  First  Broad  river,  in  a ditch  line  from  15  to  20 
miles  in  length. 

The  total  length  of  the  several  ditch  lines  on  this  property  is 
about  20  miles,  with  1800  feet  of  fluming.  The  longest  flume  is 
600  feet,  and  the  highest  trestle  28  feet.  The  grade  is  1?  to  3 
inches  in  100  feet.  The  ditches  are  18  inches  deep  by  24  inches 
wide.  Cost  of  ditching  is  25  cents  per  rod.  The  flumes  are  18 
inches  wide  by  12  inches  deep.  In  places  where  the  grade  is 
less  than  the  above  mentioned  the  ditches  and  flumes  are  made 
wider.  The  head  obtained  is  from  60  to  200  feet. 

Along  the  waters  of  Brindle  creek  the  quartz  veins  in  the 
decomposed  country  have  been  hydraulicked  and  sluiced,  but  no 
regular  vein  mining  has  been  attempted.  The  veins  are  small, 
with  few  exceptions,  (one  vein  on  the  Mill’s  place  is  from  12  to 
18  inches  thick,  but  it  is  almost  barren  in  gold,  at  least  where 
exposed).  They  strike  and  dip  in  the  normal  direction.  The 
strike  of  the  crystalline  schists  averages  H.  20°  IV.,  dip  20°  X.  E. 

Altogether  this  has  been  the  most  extensively  worked  tract 
in  the  South  Mountain  region.  During  the  past  year  the  Pied- 
mont Mineral  Company,  limited,  erected  a new  hydraulic-king 
plant  with  gravel  elevators,  and  regular  operations  are  probably 
in  progress  by  this  time. 

mcdowell  county. 

The  Marion  Bullion  Company  owns  an  extensive  mining 
tract,  situated  at  Bracket-town,  in  the  valley  of  the  head  waters 
of  South  Muddy  creek.  The  accessible  placer  ground  has  been 
worked  to  the  head  of  the  present  ditch  line.  By  building  new 
reservoirs  and  ditches  at  a greater  elevation  a considerable  area 
of  virgin  ground  might  be  made  available  here  ; and  by  remov- 
ing several  shoals  in  Muddy  creek  the  fall  of  the  same  might  be 
lowered  sufficiently  to  work  the  stream  and  adjoining  bottom 
gravels,  heretofore  inaccessible. 


MCDOWELL  COUNTY MARION  BULLION  COMPANY  PROPERTY.  167 


It  is  not  possible  to  state  any  definite  value  of  these  deposits. 
In  a general  way,  the  hillside  and  gulch  ground  ranges  from  4 
to  50  cents  per  cubic  yard,  while  the  gravel  of  the  bottom  land 
will  run  as  high  as  $1.00  per  cubic  yard. 

A number  of  small  quartz  veins  have  been  prospected  on  the 
property.  The  most  extensive  explorations  in  this  direction 
were  made  during  the  past  few  years  by  sinking  a vertical  shaft 
(7  by  11  feet  cross-section)  to  a depth  of  126  feet  on  a series  of 
six  narrow  quartz  veins,  lying  close  together. 

The  country  rock  is  biotite  gneiss  striking  1ST.  10°  W.,  and 
dipping  15°  to  20°  1ST.  E.  It  is  lenticular  in  structure,  and 
encloses  lenses  of  a highly  altered  greenish  sericite  gneiss. 

Hear  the  outcrop  the  quartz  veins  vary  from  1 to  6 inches  in 
thickness,  and  are  from  1 to  3 feet  apart  ; they  are  parallel  and 
strike  H.  68°  E.,  dipping  from  63°  to  70°  H.  W.  The  prime 
object  of  the  shaft  was  to  ascertain  whether  these  veins  would 
grow  larger  and  come  together  in  depth,  according  to  a popular 
but  fallacious  belief ; instead  of  this,  they  are  found  to  pinch  out 
to  less  than  one  inch  at  the  bottom  of  the  shaft,  and  to  maintain 
their  distance  apart.  Two  small  normal  faults  were  observed  in 
the  veins,  of  as  much  as  J inch  throw.  The  quartz  is  saccharoi- 
dal,  and  mineralized  with  galena,  blende,  chalcopyrite  and  some 
pyrite.  The  wall  rock  'itself,  though  not  highly  so,  is  impreg- 
nated with  pyrite  to  a greater  extent  than  the  vein  matter. 

The  quartz  alone  from  these  veins  gives  assay  values  ranging 
from  $4.00  to  $20.00  per  ton  in  gold  and  silver.  At  the  depth 
of  115  feet  a sample  of  the  entire  shaft  material,  vein  quartz  and 
wall  rock,  assayed  $4. SO1.  A test  mill  run  was  made  in  Septem- 
ber, 1894,  in  a Huntington  mill  and  two  Frue  vanners,  situated 
on  the  property.  Fifty-four  tons  of  quartz  and  rock  were  treated; 
of  this  amount  one-fourth  was  quartz  from  the  50  foot  level  in  the 
shaft,  three  tons  were  float  quartz,  collected  in  hydraulicking  on 
another  part  of  the  property,  and  the  remainder  was  rock  and 
vein  quartz  from  the  shaft.  The  result  was  71  dwts.  of  free  gold, 
caught  as  amalgam  in  the  body  of  the  mill  beneath  the  stationary 

1 Assay  No.  235  (of  the  Survey  laboratory  series)  by  Dr.  Chas.  Iiaskerville,  assistant 
chemist,  N.  C.  Geological  Survey. 


168 


GOLD  DEPOSITS  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


grinding  plate,  and  on  the  Hungarian  riffles  ; practically  no  gold 
was  obtained  from  the  silvered  copper  plates.  The  concentrates 
from  the  two  Frue  vanners  amounted  to  2 tons,  which  were  so 
dirty  that  they  were  run  over  and  reduced  to  260  pounds.  The 
tailings  on  this  second  run  showed  enormous  loss,  especially  in 
galena  and  floured  amalgam,  due  either  to  the  inefficiency  of  the 
vanner  or  more  probably  to  inexperience  in  operating  the  same. 
An  assay1  of  the  final  concentrates  showed  only  $7.88  per  ton,  and 
a sample  of  tl^e  tailings  gave  $2.632.  Tin’s  is  certainly  discour- 
aging. If  further  and  more  extended  exploration  can  show  that 
the  entire  rock  mass,  at  least  over  a considerable  width,  in  the 
bottom  of  the  shaft  and  in  the  cross  cuts,  will  average  from  83.50 
to  $4.50  per  ton,  then,  by  careful  and  intelligent  management 
the  mine  might  be  a profitable  low  grade  proposition;  but  cer- 
tainly no  dependence  can  ever  be  placed  on  the  small  veins  alone. 

The  Vein  Mountain  Property  comprises  a large  tract  of  land 
extending  from  Vein  Mt.  on  the  Second  Broad  river  in  a north- 
easterly direction  to  Huntsville  Mt.,  a distance  of  about  4 miles. 
The  gulch  deposits  of  Vein  mountain  have  been  liydraulieked  to 
points  as  high  as  water  was  accessible  by  the  ditch  line.  16  miles 
in  length.  A careful  and  extensive  examination3  of  the  gravel 
still  left  in  the  gulches  shows  a range  in  value  from  15J  cents  to 
$1.28  per  square  yard  of  bed  rock  on  which  it  lies  : and  a simi- 
lar examination  of  the  soil  of  Vein  mountain  shows  from  to  24 
cents  per  square  yard  of  bed  rock.  On  the  Vein  mountain  end 
of  the  tract  there  appear  to  be  37  acres  of  superior  gravel,  rang- 
ing from  39J  to  55  cents,  and  169  acres  ranging  from  15£  to  19 
cents  per  square  yard  of  bed. 

The  gulch  deposits  in  the  western  slope  of  Huntsville  moun- 
tain have  been  worked  to  some  extent,  and  yielded  a considera- 
ble amount  of  coarse  gold.  In  a narrow  mud  seam  at  the  head 
of  one  of  these  gulches  a nugget  weighing  5 pounds  was  found. 

The  crystalline  schists  at  Vein  mountain  have  a general  strike 
of  1ST.  10°  to  15°  W.,  dipping  30°  FT.  E.  A number  of  small 

1 By  Dr.  Chas.  Baskerville,  assistant  chemist  of  the  X.  C.  Geological  Survey.  Assav  No.  254 
of  the  Survey  laboratorv  series. 

- By  Dr.  C.  BaskerviUe.  Assay  No.  255  of  the  Survey  laboratory  series. 

3 By  Mr.  G.  B.  Hauua. 


RUTHERFORD  COUNTY THE  ALTA  MINE. 


169 


pegmatitic  (?)  dikes  cut  the  country  at  various  angles,  with 
unmistakable  signs  of  faulting. 

A series  of  as  many  as  thirty-three  (33)  parallel  auriferous 
quartz  veins  crosses  at  Yein  mountain  in  a belt  not  over  1 mile 
wide.  The  principal  and  largest  one  of  these  is  the  “Nichols” 
vein,  which  has  been  prospected  in  four  shafts,  the  deepest  one 
being  117  feet.  Shaft  No.  1 is  1200  feet  east  of  No.  4,  and  100 
feet  above  it  in  elevation.  The  strike  of  this  vein  is  about  N. 
80°  E.,  and  its  dip  varies  from  75°  N.  W.  to  nearly  vertical. 
Its  thickness  is  reported  to  vary  from  a few  inches  to  three  (3) 
feet,  the  usual  portion  of  the  vein  worked  being  from  15  to  30 
inches.  Below  the  water  level  the  quartz  is  mineralized  with 
sulphurets,  chiefly  pyrite  and  some  chalcopyrite,  galena  and 
blende.  A number  of  assays  show  the  following  variation  in 
the  value  of  the  quartz.  : 

Assays , Gold  Ores , Nichols  Vein,  Vein  Mountain. 


(285)  (286)  (281)  (288)  (289)  (290)  (291) 

Gold  (per  toil) $2.58  $1.17  $6.20  $10.33  $13.43  $12.40  $70.28 

Silver  “ “ trace.  trace.  trace.  trace.  t^ce.  1.51  5.43 


$2.58  $4 17  $6.20  $10  33  $13.43  $13.91  $75.71 

According  to  the  statement  of  the  present  superintendent, 
Mr.  B.  G.  Gaden,  mill  runs  of  the  ore  have  averaged  $15  and 
$17  per  ton.  If  any  such  values  can  be  obtained  in  quantity, 
there  is  no  reason  why  the  mine  should  not  be  operated  at  a 
great  profit,  and  the  present  inactivity  is  difficult  to  explain. 
There  is  a ten  stamp  mill  in  good  condition,  without  any  con- 
centration machinery,  on  the  property. 

RUTHERFORD  COUNTY. 

The  Alta  (Monarch  or  Idler)  Mine  is  situated  about  5 miles 
north  of  Rutherford  ton,  on  the  divide  between  Cathey’s  creek 
and  the  second  Broad  river. 

As  many  as  thirteen  parallel  quartz  veins  have  been  explored 
here,  within  a distance  of  \ mile  across  the  strike.  The  four 
larger  veins  are  known  as  the  Monarch,  Alta,  Carson,  and  Glen- 
dale. These  various  veins  have  been  worked  since  1S45  by 
numerous  shallow  open  cuts,  pits,  and  shafts,  down  to  the  water 


170 


GOLD  DEPOSITS  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


level,  and  the  ore  was  milled  in  arrastras.  The  last  work  was 
done  on  the  Alta  vein  some  2 or  3 years  ago.  A shaft  was  sunk 
here  to  a depth  of  105  feet,  but  the  workings  were  inaccessible 
when  visited,  and  the  following  notes  are  taken  from  several 
outside  reports  on  the  property.  The  strike  of  the  Alta  vein  is 
approximately  1ST.  65°  E.  The  thickness  of  the  vein  varies  from 
10  to  22,  averaging  perhaps  15  inches.  The  quartz  is  of  a milky 
variety,  mineralized  with  pyrite  and  some  chalcopyrite.  The 
ore  contains  from  1 to  20  per  cent,  of  sulphurets,  averag- 
ing about  5 per  cent.  One  statement  gives  its  average  yield 
in  free  gold,  by  mill  test,  at  $10  per  ton  ; another  gives  $30  ; 
and  the  value  of  the  concentrates  has  been  stated  to  be  $100  per 
ton.  There  is  a 5 stamp  mill,  in  very  poor  condition,  on  the 
property. 

The  Ell  wood  Mine  is  situated  3 miles  N.  20°  E.  from  Ruther- 
fordton  and  lj  miles  southwest  from  the  Alta  mine,  on  the  waters 
of  Cathey  creek. 

A series  of  live  parallel  quartz  veins,  100  feet  and  more  apart, 
was  first  opened  here  some  50  years  ago.  The  last  work  was  done 
in  1893,  but  barely  paid  expenses  as  stated  by  the  present  owner, 
a fact  which  it  is  difficult  to  reconcile  with  the  subsequent  state- 
ments. At  no  point  have  the  veins  been  worked  below  water 
level.  The  country  gneisses  strike  JST.  60°  W.,  and  dip  25°  1ST.  E. 
The  veins  strike  N.  50°  E.,  and  dip  80°  N.  W.  The  thickness 
of  the  larger  veins  varies  from  10  to  15  inches.  The  ore  is  reported 
to  run  $5  to  $7  per  ton  in  free  gold.  It  shows  some  sulphurets, 
pyrite  and  chalcopyrite.  The  sulphuretted  ore  is  reported  to  run 
$20  per  ton. 

The  Leeds  Mine  is  situated  on  a quartz  vein  parallel  to  and 
100  feet  north  of  the  Ellwood  veins.  It  has  been  abandoned 
many  years  and  is  inaccessible. 

CONCLUSIONS  AND  RECOMMENDATIONS  AS  TO  MINING  OPERA- 
TIONS IN  THE  SOUTH  MT.  REGION. 

AREAS  STILL  AVAILABLE  FOR  MINING. 

In  the  South  Mountain  region  there  are  considerable  areas  of 
placer  mining  ground  still  worthy  of  attention.  The  operations 


IMPROVEMENT  IN  WORKING  METHODS. 


171 


of  the  past,  when  little  capital  and  machinery  were  employed, 
were  necessarily  confined  to  such  deposits  as  lay  near  water,  or  to 
which  water  could  easily  be  brought.  Theie  is  still  a considera- 
ble amount  of  gold  in  the  beds  which  remained  untouched,  as  well 
as  in  those  which  have  been  carelessly  or  or  rudely  worked  over — 
some  of  them  more  than  once.  Indeed,  some  of  the  richest  of 
these  deposits  have  remained  unworked  on  account  of  the  diffi- 
culty of  bringing  a supply  of  water  to  their  level,  being  situated 
considerably  above  the  neighboring  streams,  or  the  higher  slopes 
and  benches  along  the  foot  hills  of  the  mountains.  Attention 
should  be  directed  to  operations  on  a larger  and  more  systematic 
scale,  than  has  heretofore  been  generally  in  vogue  in  the  district; 
and  by  this  means  the  ground  can  also  be  more  thoroughly  pros- 
pected and  the  workable  channels  more  accurately  located. 

IMPROVEMENT  IN  WORKING  METHODS. 

The  methods  of  working  are  susceptible  of  improvement. 
Where  the  gravel  is  below  the  grade  of  the  water  courses,  and 
this  is  so  frequently  the  case  in  the  district,  the  more  general 
application  of  the  hydraulic  elevator  is  advocated. 

TREATMENT  OF  CLAY  BALLS “SLUICE  ROBBERS.” 

A very  frequent  source  of  loss  and  annoyance  is  occasioned  by 
the  formation  of  clay  balls  in  the  sluices,  which  in  rolling  pick  up 
fine  particles  of  gold  and  carry  them  off.  These  are  the  so-called 
“sluice  robbers.”  The  clay  is  stiff  and  greasy,  and  it  is  almost 
impossible  to  break  it  up  into  fine  mud  before  it  reaches  the 
sluices.  In  many  instances  the  miners  should,  by  more  careful 
attention  wfith  the  gravel  fork,  prevent  its  entrance  into  the  head 
of  the  sluices.  Should  it  be  impossible,  with  all  careful  precau- 
tions, to  avoid  the  formation  of  these  clay  balls,  it  is  suggested 
that  they  be  collected  at  the  end  of  the  sluice,  and,  either  dried 
and  afterwards  pulverized  and  washed,  or  treated  directly  in  some 
sort  of  puddling  boxes. 

IMPROVEMENT  OF  WATER  CONDUITS. 

Concerning  the  water  conduits,  considerable  distance  and  grade 
can  in  instances  be  saved  by  the  construction  of  closed  pipe  lines- 


172 


GOLD  DEPOSITS  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


or  “siphons”  across  the  gulches  and  hollows,  where  trestling  and 
fhiming  are  impracticable.  The  ditch  lines  should  also  be  more 
carefully  surveyed  and  located  ; thus  on  the  Marion  Bullion  Com- 
pany’s propeity  the  present  ditch  line  could  be  raised  perhaps 
some  50  feet,  which  would  water  new  mining  ground  for  man? 
years  to  come.  The  construction  of  better  reservoirs  for  impound- 
ing the  water,  where  necessary,  should  also  be  looked  to. 

DISPOSITION  OF  THE  TAILINGS. 

The  question  of  attaining  an  adequate  grade  for  carrying  off 
the  tailings  is  of  paramount  importance.  It  is  often  possible  to 
work  a hydraulic  mine  to  advantage,  but  the  fall  of  the  stream 
below  may  be  insufficient  for  carrying  off  the  debris  or  tailings, 
which  are  almost  wholly  fine  sand  and  mud. 

In  instances  this  may  be  overcome  by  straightening  the  stream, 
cutting  off  bends  by  canals,  and  by  removing  such  natural  obstruc- 
tions as  shoals.  By  thus  cleaning  out  a stream,  portions  of  its 
bed  gravel  may  also  be  made  available  for  washing.  Thus  a 
crude  survey  of  the  upper  part  of  South  Muddy  creek  has  shown 
that  by  removing  the  Taylor  shoal  the  surface  of  the  stream 
above  can  be  lowered  so  as  to  reach  the  bed  rock  on  the  Marion 
Bullion  Company’s  land. 

Another  important  matter  is  the  disposition  of  the  tailings. 
Unless  there  be  sufficient  current  and  volume  of  water  the  stream 
will  become  filled  with  line  sand,  and  eventually  overflow  its 
banks,  depositing  the  sand  and  rendering  the  adjoining  bottom 
lands  waste.  In  the  South  Mountain  region  this  is  very  apt  to  be 
the  case,  and  as  the  bottoms  are  considered  the  most  valuable  part 
of  the  farming  land,  the  consequence  of  impairing  them  may  result 
in  serious  litigation,  as  has  been  the  case  in  California. 

The  only  means  of  averting  this  trouble  is  to  devise  some  arti- 
ficial dumping  ground  for  the  tailings,  such  as. may  be  attained  by 
the  construction  of  canals  and  dams. 

MONAZITE  DEPOSITS  IN  THIS  REGION. 

Attention  is  called  to  the  value  of  the  mineral  monazite,  which 
has  of  late  years  come  into  demand  for  the  manufacture  of  the 


OTHER  MINES  IN  SOUTH  MT.  BELT. 


173 


incandescent  light  mantles,  as  an  important  product  in  many  of 
the  gold  placer  mines  of  this  region. 

DEEP  MINING  IN  THE  SOUTH  MOUNTAIN  REGION. 

Referring  to  the  upper  decomposed  rock  layer  with  its  innum- 
erable auriferous  quartz  veinlets,  a combination  sluice  and  mill 
treatment  by  the  Georgia  method  may  in  many  cases  be  applicable. 

But  little  encouragement  can  be  given  to  deep  mining  in  the 
South  Mountain  region.  It  is  of  course  impracticable  to  mine  the 
small  quartz  veins,  so  abundant  in  the  region,  to  any  depth. 
They  are  too  narrow,  and  not  sufficiently  rich  in  gold  ; nor  will 
they  unite  in  depth,  as  is  the  prevalent  belief  of  many.  There  are 
a few  larger  veins,  such  as  the  ISTichols  and  the  Alta,  which  would 
apparently  warrant  further  exploitation.  They  sh  >uld  be  opened 
below  the  water  level  in  depth,  and  for  some  distance  along  the 
strike  so  as  to  expose  a fair  amount  and  the  various  grades  of  ore 
in  sight.  Cross-cuts  should  also  be  driven  so  as  to  determine  the 
proximity  of  other  veins  of  importance,  if  there  be  any.  If  then, 
careful  and  impartial  samples  be  taken  for  assay,  or  better  still, 
mill  tests  be  made,  the  probable  value  of  the  mine  can  soon  be 
established.  According  to  outside  reports  there  are  ores  here 
which  rank  in  quality  with  those  of  successful  operating  mines 
elsewhere.  This,  however,  needs  verification ; the  Survey  can 
make  no  definite  statements  in  the  light  of  present  conditions. 
Finally,  if  upon  proper  investigation,  such  mines  are  really  proven 
to  contain  workable  ores,  they  should  be  operated  under  proper 
business  management  and  technical  skill,  and  with  sufficient 
equipment  and  working  capital  to  insure  their  success.  The 
stamp  mill,  with  concentration  and  chlorination  works  should  be 
tenaciously  adhered  to. 


DESCRIPTION  OF  MINES  tN  OTHER  PORTIONS  OF  THE 
GENERAL  SOUTH  MT.  BELT. 

POLK  COUNTY. 

The  Polk  county  deposits,  some  25  miles  southwest,  appear  to 
be  an  extension  of  the  deposits  of  the  South  Mountain  area.  The 


174 


GOLD  DEDOSITS  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


gravel  of  this  county  is  much  like  that  of  Burke,  McDowell  and 
Rutherford,  but  the  region  is  lacking  in  the  natural  advantages, 
which,  in  these  latter  counties  constitute  so  important  a feature  in 
working  the  deposits  ; and  from  this  detect,  chiefly,  the  mining  has 
languished.  In  this  county  gold  occurs  in  both  placers  and  veins — 
strikingly  similar  to  the  placers  and  veins  in  the  larger  areas  just 
discussed.  At  present  the  localities  are  hardly  more  than  names, 
for  the  desultory  work  carried  on  cannot  be  called  mining.  The 
better  known  localities  are  the  Pattie  Abrams,  Wetherbee,  Red 
Springs,  Tom  Arms,  Splawn,  Ponder,  Riding,  L.  A.  Mills,  Car- 
penter, Hamilton,  Neal,  Maclntire,  Double  Branch  and  Prince. 
These  all  had  a good  reputation  in  the  palmy  days  of  mining, 
while  the  deposits  contiguous  to  water  lasted,  but  at  present 
none  can  be  worked  on  a large  scale  without  a larger  supply  of 
water  than  can  be  obtained  from  the  vicinity  of  the  mines. 

The  eastern  part  of  this  county  is  comparatively  flat,  and  a 
sufficient  supply  of  water  with  a good  head  could  be  obtained 
only  from  the  North  Pacolet  river  in  the  southwest  part  of  the 
county,  by  a ditch  20  miles  long. 

The  Prince  Mine  is  exclusively  a placer  working,  and  it  is  not 
known  that  veins  exist.  The  better  quality"  of  quartz  found  in 
the  top  dirt  shows  an  ounce  of  gold  per  ton,  by  assay". 

The  Red  Spring  Mine  has  3 veins  ; and  the  Splawn  mine  has 
a massive  vein  of  low  grade  quartz. 

On  the  Double  Branch  Property,  some  assays  of  a narrow 
quartz  vein  (1  to  3 inches  in  width)  show  enormous  variations  : 

Assays , Gold  Quartz,  Double  Branch  Mine , Polk  County. 

(VHW'i  , ‘XU'i 

Gold,  per  ton $2.07 $23.77  $165.07 $9.30 

Silver,  “ “ trace trace 1.43 trace. 

$ 2.07  $23.77  $466.50  $ 9.30 

292.  Barren  looking  quartz.  293.  Lively  quartz,  with  string  of  brown  ore,  sampled 
across  vein,  2%  inches. 

294.  Sampled  across  vein,  1 inch  (Brown  Ore).  295.  Compact  pyrites,  covered  with 
coating  of  brown  oxide. 

At  the  Smith  Mine,  h mile  east  of  the  above,  there  are  similar 
rich  narrow  veins,  the  occurrence  being  strikingly  like  that  at  the 
Carolina  Queen  mine  in  Burke  county. 


BURKE  AND  CALDWELL  COUNTIES. 


175 


BURKE  COUNTY. 

The  Brown  Mountain  Mine  is  situated  13  miles  north  of  Mor- 
ganton  on  Caney  branch,  a tributary  of  Upper  creek.  The  main 
mass  of  Brown  Mt.  is  made  of  granite,  while  its  western  slope, 
towards  Upper  creek,  is  composed  of  chloritic  schists.  The  mine 
openings,  which  amount  simply  to  prospects,  consist  of  two 
shafts  and  one  small  open  cut.  Shaft  17 o.  1 is  20  feet  deep,  in 
coarse  grained  granite.  The  quartz  appears  to  lie  in  irreg- 
ular stringers  in  the  granite,  varying  from  1 to  6 inches  in 
thickness  ; sulphurets  occur  sparingly.  An  open  cut,  6 by  15 
feet  by  5 feet  deep,  is  situated  75  feet  southeast  of  shaft  ISTo.  1, 
and  exposes  a ledge  of  granular,  milky  quartz,  7 feet  wide,  inter- 
calated with  chloritic  schist.  It  has  a barren  appearance.  The 
dip  is  75°  S.  E. 

Shaft  No.  2 is  situated  i mile  west  of  No.  1.  It  is  25  feet 
deep,  and  exposes  two  bodies  of  chloritic  schist,  each  about  2 feet 
in  thickness,  lying  in  decomposed  granite,  and  striki  g N.  60°  W., 
with  a dip  of  75°  S.  W.  The  most  southwesterly  one  of  these  is 
well  impregnated  with  quartz  lenses  and  stringers,  and  presuma- 
bly constitutes  the  ore. 

Gen.  E.  F.  IToke,  of  Raleigh,  N.  C.,  the  owner  of  the  property, 
furnished  an  assay  of  a sample,  taken  from  “The  shaft  on  the  top 
of  the  hill1',  (presumably  shaft  No.  2),  which  showed  $15.42  per 
ton  (gold  $12.40,  silver  $3.02).  A sample  taken  from  the  ore 
dump  at  the  mouth  of  this  shaft  by  the  present  survey,  showed 
only  a trace  of  gold  and  one  ounce  of  silver.1 

More  extended  prospecting  is  to  be  recommended  here  before 
the  value  of  the  deposits  can  be  determined.  The  bed  of  Caney 
branch  was  washed  for  gold  in  former  years,  up  to  a point  about 
opposite  to  shaft  No.  1,  and  is  reported  to  have  yielded  well. 

CALDWELL  COUNTY. 

The  Miller,  Scott  Hill,  Pax  Hill  and  Baker  mines  are  situated 
on  the  waters  of  Johns  river  near  the  southern  boundary  line  of 
the  county. 


'Assay  sample  No.  268.  Dr.  Chas.  Baskerville,  Chemist. 

12 


176 


GOLD  DEPOSITS  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


Their  respective  positions  are 
better  shown  in  the  accompanying 
topographic  sketch,  tig.  15,  taken 
from  the  Morganton  sheet  of  the 
United  States  Geological  Survey. 
These  mines  are  located  on  parallel 
veins,  in  each  instance  in  close  prox- 
imity to  a wide  diabase  dike,  which 
strikes  across  the  mica  gneiss  coun- 
try in  a direction  about  IN’.  20°  W. 
None  of  the  mines  have  been  oper- 
ated for  some  years  past,  and  they 
are  now  entirely  inaccessible, 
wherefore  but  little  can  be  said  of 
them. 

The  Miller  and  Scott  Hill 
Mines  adjoin  each  other,  and  are 
situated  on  the  waters  of  Seley’s 


Fig.  15.  Topographic  map:  showing 


creek,  1?  miles  northwest  of  Hart- a„(j ViakerfAVines'’  :Scott  H111,  Pax  Hil1' 


1 r. ,,  A P Scale  1 inch— 2 miles.  Contour  Inter- 

iana  1 . U.  val  mi  met. 

The  branches  and  adjoining  hill  ground  have  been  worked  for 
placer  gold,  A series  of  parallel  veins  have  been  explored  by  a 
great  number  of  cuts,  tunnels  and  shallow  shafts.  .Judging  from 
the'course  of  these  old  diggings  the  strike  of  the  veins  is  X.  50° 
— 60°  E.,  with  a dip  to  the  northwest.  The  float  quartz  which 
was  observed  here  is  of  a white  vitreous  variety,  and  the  largest 
pieces  are  12  inches  in  thickness. 

A five  stamp  mill  was  at  one  time  in  operation  at  the  Miller 
mine,  but  it  is  now  converted  into  a distillery.  The  diabase  dike 
passes  near  this  building  and  strikes  N.  20°  W.  ; it  is  probably 
over  100  feet  wide. 

The  Pax  Hill  Mine  is  1 mile  northwest  of  the  Miller  and 
:Scott  Hill  mines.  Some  placer  work  has  been  done  here.  Three 
main  veins  have  been  opened,  situated  about  30  yards  apart,  and 
striking  X.  60°  E.  They  are  reported  to  be  respectively  8,  10 
and  12  inches  wide. 


CALDWELL  COUNTY  JUNES. 


177 


The  Baker  Mine  has  been  more  extensively  worked  than  any 
of  the  above  mentioned.  It  is  situated  on  the  western  slope  of 
Davis  mountain,  near  the  river. 

The  country  schists  and  gneisses  strike  northeast,  and  dip 
southeastward.  The  diabase  dike  at  this  point  is  very  wide  (over 
75  feet),  and  is  largely  altered  to  serpentine,  intersected  by  nar- 
row veinlets  of  chrysotile.  .-The  quartz  veins  are  in  the  schist  and 
run  northwest  and  southeast  ; it  is  not  certainly  known  whether 
they  continue  into  and  across  the  serpentine. 

There  are  four  principal  veins  ; the  more  northerly  is  the  Bras- 
well, which  has  a large  boldly  projecting  outcrop,  but  has  never 
been  much  examined.  It  strikes  1ST.  35°  AY.,  and  dips  about  60° 
17.  E.  ; its  width  is  from  2 to  5 feet.  The  Goley  Ann  vein  bears 
17.  39°  AY.,  and  dips  70°  N.  E.  ; it  is  narrow  at  the  surface. 

The  Shaft  vein  is  next,  to  the  southwest ; it  strikes  17.  15°  AY., 
and  dips  66°  to  75°  N.  E.  It  is  from  20  to  21  inches  in  width, 
and  has  been  opened  at  points  200  yards  apart.  The  quartz 
veinstone  carries  scattered  galenite  and  associated  minerals. 

The  Cabin  vein  is  still  further  south,  and  was  worked  at  points 
100  yards  apart  ; it  strikes  ET.  35°  AY.,  dips  60°  17.  E.,  and  is  20 
inches  wide.  The  veinstone  is  quartz  with  ferruginous  matter 
and  galenite  in  considerable  quantities.  The  galenite  is  highly 
auriferous  as  well  as  argentiferous ; some  assays1  of  the  pure 
material  show  : 

Assays , Ores  from  Shaft  Vein  and  Cabin  Vein,  Baker  Mine , Caldwell  Co. 


Shaft  Vein. 

Cabin  Vein. 

PEW) 

(297) 

Gold,  per  ton 

$ 87.31 

$ 34.00 

Silver,  per  ton 

21.24 

87.89 

$108.55 

$121.89 

Lead,  per  cent 

84fS 

83  0% 

The  quartz  of  all  the  veins,  aside  from  the  galenite,  carries 
gold.  The  surface  and  particularly  the  gulches  and  streams  were 
originally  rich  in  placer  gold. 

Adjoining  the  Baker  is  the  Old  Miller  Mine , a former  placer 
digging.  About  2 mile  south  of  the  Baker  is  the  Bald  Knob 
Mine , where  the  vein  is  reported  to  have  a thickness  of  1 feet. 
The  Francis  Mine  is  also  near  here. 


1 By  J.  G.  Ellery, 


178 


GOLD  DEPOSITS  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


It  is 'a  noteworthy  fact  that  all  of  the  above  described  mines 
hold  a positive  relation  to  the  diabase  dike  which  accompanies 
them,  and  which  has  undoubtedly  facilitated  the  activity  and 
ascension  of  the  ore  bearing  solutions. 

The  Bee  Mountain  Mine  is  situated  about  1 miles  (air  line) 
H.  80°  ML  from  Lenoir,  on  the  northeast  slope  of  Bee  mountain. 
The  openings  consist  of  two  shallow  prospect  shafts  and  a tunnel. 
The  country  rock  is  garnetiferous  mica  gneiss  and  pegmatite, 
which  strikes  H.  60°  E.,  and  dips  15°  S.  E. 

Shaft  Ho.  1 is  70  feet  deep  ; now  filled  with  water.  The 
dump  shows  no  ore.  Shaft  Ho.  2 is  about  30  feet  deep,  and 
shows  a 4 foot  quartz  vein  on  the  outcrop,  striking  H.  75°  E. 
Much  of  the  quartz  is  cellular  and  stained  brown,  and  is  miner- 
alized with  zinc  blende  and  some  galena  and  ehalcopyrite. 

The  tunnel  is  situated  lower  down  on  the  slope  of  the  hill,  and 
is  100  feet  long  in  a direction  H.  20°  ML  ; it  exposes  nothing  of 
interest,  as  it  does  not  cut  the  vein. 

WILKES  COUNTY. 

At  Flint  Knob  in  the  southwestern  part  of  the  county,  6 miles 
east  of  Deep  gap  in  the  Blue  Ridge,  argentiferous  lead  ore  is 
found.  The  property  is  situated  on  a mountain  spur  that  shoots 
oft'  from  the  Blue  Ridge  at  intervals,  and  extends  with  gradually 
diminishing  sharpness  of  outline  and  altitude  to  the  Yadkin 
river.  This  particular  spur  is  called  Laurel  Spur,  and  further 
down,  Flint  Knob,  from  the  abundance  of  quartz  which  covers  it. 
The  earliest  settlers  were  aware  that  lead  was  found  there; 
extended  explorations  were  undertaken  some  60  years  ago  by  Dr. 
McKenzie,  and  later  by  Gen.  S.  F.  Patterson.  The  galenite  is 
scattered  more  or  less  sparingly  in  a quartz  gangue.  Assays  by 
Adelberg  and  Raymond  showed  samples  to  contain  : 

Assays,  Ore  and  Concentrates,  Flint  Knob , Wilkes  County. 

Ore.  (298).  Concentrates.  (299). 

Lead 19.5  per  cent.  Gold,  per  ton $ S1.57 

Silver,  per  ton 7.33 


Five  tons  of  ore  made  one  ton  of  concentrates. 


$SS.90 


WILKES  COUNTY. 


179 


When  visited  in  the  fall  of  1S9-1,  the  superficial  explorations  of 
several  quartz  veins,  carrying  galena,  pyrite  and  chalcopyrite, 
were  seen  ; but  at  no  point  had  sufficient  work  been  done  to 
determine  the  possible  value  of  these  deposits.  The  country  rock 
is  garnetiferous  gneiss. 

In  the  northern  part  of  the  county,  where  the  road  from  Trap 
Hill  to  Wilkesboro  crosses  Roaring  river,  gold  has  been  washed 
from  the  river  sands. 

Another  locality  is  near  Trap  Hill,  on  the  eastern  face  of  the 
Blue  Ridge  at  Bryan’s  gap,  where  a bold  outcrop  of  quartz  has 
been  traced  for  nearly  three  miles;  the  vein  dips  easterly  with 
the  schists,  and  ranges  from  3 to  20  feet  in  width  ; it  carries  iron 
pyrites  with  a small  proportion  of  copper  pyrites,  and  is  gener- 
ally auriferous.  A series  of  assays  show  : 

Assays , Gold  Ores , Bryans  Gap , Wilkes  County. 

(300)  (301)  (302)  (303)  (304)  (305)  (306) 

Gold,  per  ton $1.57 $1 .55 ..$2.07 $3.10 $4  11 $5.17 $10.23 

Silver,  per  ton 81 1.01 59 91 trace none 83 

$2.11  $2.56  $2.65  $1.01  $4.11  $5.17  $11.17 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


THE  GOLD  DEPOSITS  WEST  OF  THE  BLUE  RIDGE. 

In  the  region  west  of  the  Blue  Ridge  are  several  gold  mining 
localities,  some  of  which  have  attracted  attention,  and  have  been 
the  site  of  more  or  less  productive  work. 

It  is  highly  probable  that  the  schists  in  the  mountain  section 
are  universally  slightly  auriferous,  the  gold  being  set  free  by 
weathering,  and  after  erosion,  being  concentrated  in  favored 
sinks. 

In  truth  gold  has  been  found  in  most  of  the  mountain  counties, 
and  these  sporadic  occurrences  have  given  rise  to  numerous,  but 
short  lived,  mining  excitements. 

From  a large  number  of  assays  of  material  from  all  parts  of 
the  Blue  Ridge  counties  it  may  be  said  that  gold  is  never  absent 
whenever  the  material  possesses  the  least  dissemination  of  any 
variety  of  sulphurets,  and  generally  in  quantities  somewhat  larger 
than  traces,  though  not  often  constituting  workable  ore's.  The 
presence  of  galenite  usually  adds  to  the  silver  contents. 

In  Ashe  and  Alleghany  counties  some  of  the  copper  ores  con- 
tain a small  proportion  of  gold  and  silver,  though,  with  the 
exception  of  the  Copper  Knob  mine,  they  are  not  regarded  as 
possible  producers  of  the  precious  metals. 

ASHE  COUNTY. 

The  Copper  Knob  (or  Gap  Creek)  Mine  is  situated  in  the 
southern  part  of  the  county,  on  the  waters  of  Kew  river.  There 
are  three  quartz  veins,  though  only  one  of  them  has  been  worked 
to  any  extent.  It  lies  in  a large  body  of  hornblende  schist,  but 
the  prevalent  country  rock  of  the  section  is  gray  gneiss,  with  a 
strike  N.  60°  E.,  and  a dip  10°  S.  E.  The  strike  of  the  fissure  is 
K.  35°  W.,  and  the  dip  45°  K.  E.,  though  neither  dip  nor  strike 
is  uniform. 


HENDERSON  COUNTY THE  BOYLSTON  MINE. 


181 


The  vein-stone  is  quartz  ; in  the  upper  part  it  was  accompanied 
by  a selvage  of  iron  peroxide,  extraordinarily  rich  in  gold.  The 
mineral  seam  occupied  the  centre  of  the  quartz  fissure,  and  varied 
from  4 to  6 inches  in  thickness.  In  the  60  foot  level  the  vein 
varies  from  14  inches  to  3 feet.  On  the  northwest  course,  along 
this  level,  the  vein  contains  copper  ores  for  53  feet,  when  the 
quartz  becomes  slightly  changed  and  carries  native  gold,  with 
brown  oxide  of  iron,  for  about  36  feet.  Here  the  bearing  is 
changed  to  1ST.  43°  W.  The  vein  appears  to  be  more  mineralized 
on  the  northwest  than  on  the  southeast  side  of  the  workings, 
which  run  into  the  Knob.  The  ore  is  complex  : vitreous  copper 
ore,  malachite,  chryscolla,  a very  little  chalcopyrite,  brown  ore, 
etc.  Iron  pyrite  is  almost  wanting.  The  ore  seam  increased 
somewhat  in  width  as  greater  depth  was  gained.  The  shaft  was 
sunk  to  a depth  of  60  feet  with  satisfactory  results,  and  subse- 
quently deepened  (as  reported)  to  140  feet.  At  this  stage  the 
mine  became  the  prey  of  a company  of  speculators.  The  con- 
current testimony  of  many  persons  cognizant  of  the  last  work  is 
that  the  resources  of  the  mine  continued  good  as  far  as  the  explo- 
rations extended. 

The  nature  of  some  of  the  ore  is  shown  in  the  following  assaj^s: 
Assays , Gold  and  Copper  Ores , Cop  per  Knob  Mine , Ashe  County. 

(307)  ' (30S)  (309)  (310) 

Gold,  per  ton $ 8.62 $ 31.79 $ 57.30 $ 77.51 

Silver,  ‘‘  “ 2.30 25.50 14.53  45.68 

.$  10.88  $ 60.29  $ 71.89  $ 123.19 

Capper,  per  cent 23.83:? 37.44£ 

In  Watauga  County  a limited  area  of  gold  gravel  is  found  on 
Howard’s  creek,  which  was  worked  on  a small  scale  before  the 
war.  Gold  is  also  found  in  this  county  at  Hardin’s,  one  mile 
north  of  Eoone. 

In  Buncombe  County,  indications  of  gold  have  been  found  on 
Cane  creek. 

HENDERSON  COUNTY. 

The  Boylston  Mine  is  situated  on  the  southeastern  slope  of 
Forge  mountain,  on  the  waters  of  Boylston  creek,  22  miles  south 
of  Asheville,  and  12  miles  west  of  Hen  lersonville.  It  is  the 


182 


GOLD  DEPOSITS  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


property  of  the  Boylston  Mining  Company,  and  embraces  an  area 
of  some  618  acres.  The  mine  is  equipped  with  a ten  stamp  mill, 
Frue  vanner,  boiler,  engine,  etc.,  all  of  which  are  now  in  serious 
disrepair. 

The  topography  of  the  region  is  shown  in  the  accompanying 
sketch  map  (Fig.  15),  redrawn  from  the  Pisgah  topographic  atlas 
sheet  of  the  United  States  Geological  Survey. 


"Fig.  10.  Topographic  map,  showing  location  of  the  Boylston  veins  on  Forge  moun- 
tain, Henderson  County,  N.  C. 

Scale:  1 inch  i mile;  contour  interval  100  feet. 

The  general  elevation  of  the  valley  of  Boylston  creek  is  2200 


HENDERSON  COUNTY THE  BOYLSTON  MINE. 


183 


feet  above  the  sea  level.  The  crest  of  Forge  mountain  rises  900 
feet  above  the  valley,  or  3100  feet  above  sea  level. 

Forge  mountain  is  made  up  of  finegrained  mica  and  hornblende 
gneisses  and  schists,  in  part  much  crumpled.  The  general  strike 
of  the  sehistosity  is  1ST.  20°  to  30°  E.  The  dip  is  to  the  northwest ; 
near  the  surface  the  inclination  is  about  35°,  gradually  increasing 
to  50°  and  60°  within  a short  distance,  and  in  depth  it  is  reported 
to  be  nearly  vertical,  though  still  to  the  northwest.  This  phenome- 
non is  undoubtedly  to  be  ascribed  to  the  dislocating  action  of 
alternate  frost  and  heat,  augmented  by  the  action  of  gravity, 
especially  on  hill  and  mountain  slopes.1 

This  anomalous  dip  also  applies  to  the  quartz  veins  at  the 
Bovlston  mine,  as  the  fissures  follow  approximately  the  cleavage 
planes  of  the  schists. 

The  schists  are  cut  by  a granite  dike,  the  general  strike  of 
which  is  about  N.  30°  E.,  dipping  apparently  at  a steep  angle.  - 
It  is  a light  colored  biotite  granite  of  coarse  grain,  and  is  largely 
decomposed  to  white,  kaolinized  masses.  The  width  of  this  dike 
was  not  established,  but  it  appears  to  he  over  100  feet  in  places, 
and  contains  large  included  fragments  of  the  country  schists,  show- 
ing that  the  age  of  its  intrusion  was  subsequent  to  that  of  the  force 
which  rendered  the  country  schistose. 

The  valley  of  Boylston  Creek  is  composed  ot  schistose  lime- 
stone. Along  its  northwestern  boundary,  at  the  base  of  Forge 
mountain,  this  limestone,  according  to  Dr.  fm.  B.  Phillips,2  dips 
to  the  southeast  and  is  uncomformably  overlaid  by  the  schists  of 
the  mountain.  The  limestone  outcrop  was  observed  in  Woodfin’s 
quarry  on  the  western  slope  of  a low  ridge,  skirting  the  eastern 
bank  of  Boylston  creek.  It  strikes  N.  -10°  E.,  and  dips  45°  S.  E., 
and  is  overlaid  by  crumpled  schists,  which  are  in  part  graphitic. 
Th  ese  schists  contain  interlaminated  rusty  quartz  lenses,  from  h 
to  2 inches  in  thickness,  which  carry  traces  of  gold  and  silver.3 

The  limestone  is  of  a grey  blue  color,  compact,  fine  crystalline, 
and  apparently  quite  free  from  siliceous  matter.  Some  4 miles 
further  up  the  valley  it  is  reported  to  hold  thin  veins  of  quartz 

'On  the  action  ot  frost  in  the  arrangement  ot  superficial  earthy  material.  By  W.  C. 
Kerr,  Am.  Jour.  Sci.,  Ill,  Vol.  31,  May,  1881. 

"2In  a private  report  on  the  property. 

3Assayed  by  Dr.  Chas.  Baskerville,  assistant  chemist  N.  C.  Geological  Survey. 


184 


GOLD  DEPOSITS  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


carrying  pyrite,  ehalcopvrite,  galena  and  blende,  though  not  in 
commercial  quantities.  These  rocks  of  the  Boylston  valley  and 
Forge  mountain  are  in  a narrow  belt,  lately  designated  as  the 
Ocoee  formation  by  Mr.  Arthur  Keith  of  the  U.  S.  Gelogical 
Survey. 

Four  main  auriferous  quartz  veins  have  been  discovered  on  the 
Boylston  property.  They  are  parallel  and  strike  H.  30°  E.,  dip- 
ping to  the  northwest  at  angles  varying  from  25°  to  75°,  their 
upper  portion  or  crest  being  deflected  down  hill,  as  already  men- 
tioned. 

In  places  the  quartz  is  deeply  corrugated,  and  has  a banded 
structure,  as  though  it  were  folded  like  the  enclosing  schists.  At 
the  same  time  it  contains  included  fragments  of  the  schist,  and 
hence  the  age  of  its  deposition  is  later  than  that  of  the  schistosity. 
This  crumpled,  quasi-schistose  structure  of  the  quartz  must  there- 
fore be  due  to  other  causes,  and  the  most  reasonable  one  appears 
to  be  that  during  deposition  the  inside  layer,  next  to  the  wall  of 
the  fissure,  was  moulded  on  the  crumpled  schists,  and  the  next 
succeeding  layer  was  moulded  on  the  first,  and  so  on,  producing 
casts  of  each  other. 

The  character  of  the  quartz  is  usually  crypto-crystalline,  vitre- 
ous, being  cellular  and  stained  brown  above  the  water  level. 
Rarely  it  is  fine  grained,  saecliaroidal  and  milky. 

The  thickness  of  the  veins  varies  from  1 to  41  feet.  A pay 
streak,  from  1 to  8 inches  wide  usually  appears  along  the  hanging 
wall.  The  quartz  carries  free  gold  in  the  upper  levels  and  free 
gold  and  sulphurets  (pyrite  and  some  galena)  below  the  water 
level. 

For  the  convenience  of  description  the  veins  have  been  num- 
bered 1,  2,  3,  and  4,  beginning  with  the  one  nearest  the  eastern 
base  of  the  mountain. 

The  occurrence  of  gold  in  Boylston  creek  was  known  for  a long 
time,  but  it  was  not  until  the  winter  18^5-1886  that  the  quartz 
veins  of  Forge  mountain  were  prospected  by  Mr.  A m.  Allison. 
He  worked  the  soft,  decomposed  outcrop  of  vein  FTo.  2.  by  sluic- 
ing and  washing,  with  good  results.  Explorations  proved  so 
favorable  that  the  present  company  was  formed  in  1886,  and 


HENDERSON  COUNTY THE  BOYLSTON  MINE. 


185 


machinery  was  erected  for  treating  the  ores.  The  mine  was  then 
operated  spasmodically  and  with  varying  success.  In  the  fall  of 
1889,  Dr.  Win.  B.  Phillips  made  a thorough  examination  of  the 
property,  with  practical  mill  tests  of  the  ores,  the  results  of  which 
were  presented  in  a report  to  the  company. 

The  mine  is  now  idle  and  at  the  time  when  visited  by  the  Sur- 
vey (October,  1894),  most  of  the  openings  were  caved  in  and  inac- 
cessible. Much  of  the  matter,  including  assays,  contained  in  the 
following  description  of  the  Boylston  mine,  has  been  taken  from 
the  detailed  report  of  Dr.  Phillips. 

Vein  No.  1 is  exposed  in  a small  pit,  now  caved  in,  near  the 
eastern  base  of  Forge  mountain.  Its  width  at  this  point  is  stated 
to  be  2?  feet,  with  a 2i  inch  seam  of  slatjr  material.  The  quartz 
is  sacc-haroidal  and  stained  brown.  An  assay,  representing  the 
width  of  the  vein,  excluding  the  slaty  seam,  shows  : 

Assay , Gold  Ores,  Vein  No.  1,  Boylston  Mine,  Henderson  County. 


(311) 

Gold,  per  ton $4.13 

Silver,  “ 50 


$1.63 

On  the  Frank  Sitton  land,  adjoining  the  Boylston  property  on 
the  northeast,  the  same  vein  has  been  explored  in  a shaft  30  feet 
deep,  and  an  open-cut  25  by  5 by  5 feet.  The  thickness  of  1 1 1 e 
vein  is  reported  to  be  3 feet.  Two  assays  show  : 

Assays,  Gold  Ore,  Boylston  Vein  No.  1,  Sitton  Property,  Henderson  County. 

(313)  (313) 

Gold,  per  ton $ 13  87 $13  44 

Silver,  per  ton 41 60 

$ 13.78  $14.04 

Vein  No.  2 has  been  more  thoroughly  prospected  and  devel- 
oped than  the  others.  All  of  the  ore  that  has  been  mined  and 
milled  at  the  Boylston  was  obtained  from  this  vein. 

The  principal  work  on  Ho.  2 begins  at  the  George  Sitton  branch 
(Allison  opening),  and  extends  thence  in  a northeasterly  direction 
along  the  outcrop  in  a series  of  open  cuts  made  at  intervals  over  a 
length  of  about  1500  feet,  to  the  Mill  branch,  and  thence  in  a 
series  of  drifts,  for  a distance  of  300  feet. 

The  Allison  opening  extends  from  the  George  Sitton  to  Rail 
Cove  branch,  a distance  of  about  600  feet.  It  is  an  open  cut, 


GOLD  DEPOSITS  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


1 86 

averaging  10  feet  in  width  and  15  feet  in  depth.  In  this  distance  are 
situated  two  shafts  and  an  inclined  tunnel,  namely  the  Garwood 
and  Radford  shaft's,  and  the  Allen  slope.  In  the  open  cut  the  vein 
is  from  3 to  4 feet  thick,  composed  of  decomposed  sulphurets  and 
sugary  quartz.  A rich  pay-streak  of  reddish  brown  quartz  forms  a 
layer,  from  1 to  3 inches  thick,  next  to  the  hanging  wall,  gener- 
ally ; but  it  is  not  to  be  depended  on  as  regards  either  thickness  or 
linear  extent.  In  the  sulphurets,  composed  chiefly  of  pyrite  and 
some  little  chalcopyrite,  about  one-third  of  the  gold  is  free. 

The  Garwood  shaft  is  25  feet  deep,  and  the  thickness  of  the  vein 
here  is  stated  to  he  4^  feet.  At  the  bottom  of  the  shaft  the 
Thomas  level  extends  35  feet,  S.  15°  W. 

The  Allen  slope  is  25  feet  long.  The  Radford  shaft  is  20  feet 
deep  ; the  vein  is  3 feet  thick,  and  dips  65°  H.  W.  The  granite 
dike  appears  in  the  hanging  wall,  4 feet  from  the  vein. 

A number  of  assays  show  : 

Assays,  Gold  Ores , Vein  No.  2,  Allison  Opening , Boylston  Mine,  Henderson 

County. 

(311)  (315)  (316)  (317)  (318)  (319)  (320)  (321)  (322 1 

Gold,  pel-toil $7.23 $1 13 $4.13 $5.13 $6.20 $7.23 $109.35 $84  75 $7  23 

Silver,  per  toil...  .41 41 50 50 65  50 4.04 3.87 75 

$7  64  $4.54  $4.63  $5.68  $6.85  $7.73  $113.39  $88.62  $7.98 

314.  Quartz  from  open  cut.  315.  Sulphurets  from  Allen  slope.  316.  Sugary  quarz  from 
open  cut.  317.  Ore  from  mill  dump.  318.  Ore  from  mill  dump,  one-half  Garwood  shaft. 
319.  Quartz  from  Garwood  shaft.  320  and  321.  Reddish  brown  ore  from  pay  streak.  322. 
Outcrop  of  sulphurets  in  branch. 

Dr.  Phillips  estimates  that  1,000  tons  of  ore  have  have  been  taken 
from  this  part  of  the  mine — between  the  Geo.  Sitton  and  Rail  Cove 
branches — and  that  the  amount  of  ore  still  remaining  above  the 
water  level  is  about  2000  tons,  which  may  be  depended  on  to 
yield  $4.00  per  ton  in  free  gold  (assay  value).  He  gives  as  the 
cost  of  mining,  transportation  and  milling,  §2.25  per  ton. 

The  Winny  Dunkin  opening  begins  on  the  north  side  of  Rail 
Cove  branch,  and  extends  as  an  open  cut  H.  15°  E.,  for  a distance 
of  275  feet.  It  is  10  to  15  feet  in  width,  and  about  the  same  in 
depth.  Sulphurets  appear  here  20  feet  from  the  surface.  In  the 
zone  above  the  sulphurets  the  vein  matter  is  composed  of  granular 
quartz,  decomposed  sulphurets,  slate  with  seams  of  quartz,  and 
segregated  thin  seams  of  rusty  quartz,  carrying  coarse  gold.  A sec- 
tion from  foot  to  hanging  wails,  10  feet  below  the  surface,  is  given 
as  follows : 


HENDERSON  COUNTY THE  BOYLSTON  MINE.  1ST 


Feet.  Inches. 

Rusty  brown  slate,  with  seams  of  quartz 0 6 

Rusty  quartz,  carrying  coarse  gold 1 o 

Milky  quartz,  somewhat  cellular  and  rusty 1 6 

Thin  bands  of  brown  slate,  highly  silicifled 1 6 


1 6 

Some  assays  from  the  Dunkin  opening  show  : 

Assays , Gold  Ores , Vein  No.  2,  Dunkin  Opening , Boylston  Mine , Henderson 

County. 

(323)  ■ (324) 

Gold,  per  ton $ 4.13 $ 4 13 

Silver,  per  ton 5.48 50 

$ 9.61  $ 4.63 

332.  Sulphurets  ; the  high  silver  is  due  to  the  galena  present.  328.  Ore  from  cut.  15  feet 
below  the  surface,  sampled  across  the  vein  iroin  wall  to  wall. 

It  is  estimated  that  300  tons  of  ore  were  removed  from  this 
opening,  and  that  the  amount  of  free  milling  ore  still  remaining 
above  the  water  level  between  Kail  Cove  and  Mill  branches  is 
4100  tons,  which  will  yield  $4.00  per  ton,  (assay  value.) 

Immediately  on  the  north  side  of  Mill  branch  is  a series  of 
seven  drifts,  now  in  very  bad  condition,  along  the  outcrop  of  vein 
Ho.  2,  for  a distance  of  300  feet. 

Their  relative  positions  are  shown  in  fig.  17. 


Fig.  17  Drifts  1 to  8 inclusive.  Vein  No.  2,  Boylston  Mine. 


188 


GOLD  DEPOSITS  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


On  the  south  side  of  the  branch  is  drift  No.  8,  50  feet  long.  The 
granite  dike  was  penetrated  by  it,  and  the  thickness  of  the  quartz 


vein  is  3 feet.  An  assay  shows  . 

Assay , Gold  Ore , Drift  No.  8,  Boylston  Mine , Henderson  County 

(325) 

Gold,  per  ton $ 4.13 

Silver,  per  ton 40 


$ 4.53 


Drift  No.  7 follows  the  pay  streak,  which  is  3 to  6 inches  thick, 
along  the  hanging.  The  width  of  the  vein  is  1 feet,  filled  with 
stained  granular  quartz.  It  is  accompanied  by  the  granite  dike. 
An  assay  shows  : 

Assay , Gold  Ore , Drift  No.  7,  Boylston  Mine , Henderson  County. 


(326) 

Gold,  per  ton $23.77 

Silver,  per  ton 1 70 


$25.47 


It  is  estimated  that  60  tons  of  ore  have  been  removed  from  here. 
Drift  No.  6 joins  No.  5 by  a cross  cut.  It  shows  2 feet  of 
suear  v Quartz,  stained  brown.  The  amount  of  ore  removed  from 


here  is  estimated  at  60  tons. 


Drift  No.  5 opens  on  a platform 
at  the  top  ot  an  incline,  200 
feet  long,  to  the  crusher  dump. 
At  its  mouth  the  thickness  of 
the  quartz  vein  measured  U 
feet.  The  highly  crumpled  and 
folded  schists  make  their  appear- 
ance on  the  foot  wall  side,  and 
are  broken  through  by  the 
eruptive  granite,  as  shown  in 
Fie.  IS,  from  the  Bovlston  mine. 


HENDERSON  COUNTY THE  BOYLSTON  MINE. 


189 


Drift  No.  4 exposes  ou  the  outcrop  4 feet  of  quartz,  separated 


by  1 foot  of  granite.  The  vein 
swells  and  pinches,  and  appears 
to  be  cut  off  at  one  point  by  the 
crumpled  schist.  Near  the  face 
of  the  opening  the  vein  matter 
consists  of  the  schist  itself, 
highly  impregnated  with  quartz 
stringers  and  stained  brown. 
This  is  best  illustrated  in  Fig. 
19. 

It  is  estimated  that  50  tons 
have  been  removed  from  here. 

Drift  No.  3 : The  vein  is 

probably  3 feet  thick  and  dips 
25°  N.  W.  About  10  tons  of 
ore  have  been  removed. 

Drifts  Nos.  1 and  2 show  up 
similarly  to  No.  3.  About  10 
tons  of  ore  have  been  removed 
from  each. 

Some  20  feet  beyond  the 
mouth  of  Drift  No.  1 is  the  face 
of  the  Upper  Cut,  the  termina- 
tion of  the  work  that  has  been 
done  on  this  part  of  vein  No.  2. 
It  is  on  this  ridge  that  the  vein 
appears  to  have  been  most  dis- 
turbed by  the  granite  dike, 
which  lies  next  to  the  foot  wall, 

and  carries  some  free  °’old. 

<> 

An  assay  of  the  three  feet 
adjoining  the  foot  wall  shows : 

Assay,  Gold  Ore,  Vein  No.  2,  Boyls- 

ton  Mine,  Henderson  County. 


(327) 

Gold,  per  ton $ 3.06 

Silver,  per  ton 50 


$ 2.56 


190 


GOLD  DEPOSITS  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


Some  assays  of  the  ore  from  these  drifts  show  : 


Assays,  Gold  Ore,  Drifts  1 — 7,  Boylston  Mine,  Henderson  County. 


Gold  per  ton, 
Silver  “ 

?c  oo 

(329) 

$ 8.27 

50 

(330) 

....  1.01 

(331) 

— $55.30 

....  1 3.44 

(332)  (333) 

$ 4.13 $ 5.17... 

50 41... 

(334) 

$ 5.18 

41 

$9.09 

$8.77 

$19.10 

$58.74 

$4.63  $5.58 

$5.59 

Gold,  per  ton 

(335) 

$ 6.-0.... 

50 

$ 

(336) 

6.21) 

.33 

(337)  ' 

$ 4.13 

(338) 
...$  11.37 
58 

$ 6.70 

$ 

6.52 

$ 4.63 

$ 11.95 

Assay  No.  328,  Sample  was  taken  from  pay  streak,  8 inches  wide,  from  drift  No.  1. 

Sample  329,  From  8 inches  of  soft  ore,  immediately  above  the  pay  streak  in  drift  No.  1. 

330.  Reddish  brown  pay  streak,  8 inches  wide,  in  drift  No.  2. 

331.  Pay  streak,  6 inches  wide,  in  drift  No.  3. 

332.  Sample  across  the  face  of  314  foot  vein,  drift  No.  3. 

333.  Quartzose  slate,  12  inches  thick,  drift  No.  3. 

334.  Mill  dump,  % soft,  K hard  ore. 

335.  Mill  dump,  soft  ore. 

338.  Mill  dump,  soft  ore  from  above  mill. 

337.  Isolated  mass  of  sulphurets  in  drift  No.  3. 

338.  From  outcrop,  2%  feet  thick,  where  vein  No.  2 crosses  high  top  of  Forge  mountain  • 

Vein  No.  3 has  been  prospected  in  a small  pit  and  drift  near  the 
head  of  Rail  Cove  branch.  The  thickness  is  stated  to  be  2?  feet, 
and  the  vein  matter  is  composed  of  granular  quartz,  rusty  cellular 
quartz,  quartzose  slate,  and  some  pyrite.  Several  assays  show: 

Assays,  Gold  Ores,  Vein  No.  3,  Boylston  Mine,  Henderson  County. 

(339)  (340) 

Gold,  per  ton $ 18.60 $ 34.11 

Silver,  per  ton 32 82 

$ 18.92  $ 34.93 

339.  Sampled  across  face  of  vein.  340.  Six  inch  seam  of  rusty  quartz. 

Vein  No.  4 has  been  exposed  on  Vineyard  branch,  near  the 
summit  of  the.  mountain,  in  a small  pit,  6 feet  deep.  Its  thickness 
is  stated  to  be  3 feet,  and  the  strike  and  dip  are  similar  to  those  of 
the  other  veins.  The  ore  is  granular  quartz.  An  assay  of  a sam- 
ple taken  across  the  face  shows  : 

Assay,  Gold  Ore,  Vein  No.  4,  Boylston  Mine,  Henderson  County. 

(341) 

.$  3.10 
.56 


Gold,  per  ton.. 
Silver,  per  ton 


$ 3.66- 


MINES  OF  JACKSON,  TRANSYLVANIA,  AND  MACON. 


191 


A summary  statement  of  the  work  done  by  Dr.  Phillips  in  Sep- 
tember, 1889,  including  mining  and  milling,  is  as  follows: 


Allison  Opening. 

Winney  Dunkin  Opening. 

Drifts  1.  2 and  3. 

No.  of  tons  mined 

10 

25 

40 

Assay  value 

$5  56 

$1.51 

• $5.49 

Cost  of  mining  and 

transportation 

$1.50 

$1.25 

$1.17 

The  total  amount  of  ore  mined  and  milled  was  75  tons,  worth 
$387.95,  calculated  from  the  above  statement.  The  amount 
recovered  was  $112.20,  an  extraction  of  2-1.63  per  cent,  of 
the  assay  value.  This  low  yield  was  in  general  measure  due  to 
the  condition  of  the  machinery  and  outside  battery  plates;  the  75 
tons  required  318  hours  for  running  through,  and  during  the  last 
72  hours  one-third  of  the  total  amount  of  gold  saved,  was  obtained, 
although  the  assay  value  of  the  ore  remained  the  same.  In  other 
words,  20.8  per  cent,  of  the  time  gave  33.3  per  cent,  of  the  gold, 
after  the  mill  had  been  brought  up  to  something  like  its  proper 
efficiency.  The  rate  of  milling  per  day  (21  hours)  was  5.17  tons; 
no  more  than  this  could  be  treated  owing  to  the  condition  of  the 
crusher,  the  shoes  and  dies,  and  the  belts. 

The  mill,  if  in  proper  condition,  should  be  capable  of  treating  at 
least  10  tons  per  day,  with  a saving  of  60  per  cent,  of  the  assay 
value. 

Excluding  the  interest  on  the  investment,  Dr.  Phillips  estimates 
the  cost  of  mining,  transportation  and  milling  at  $2.33  per  ton,  on 
a basis  of  375  tons  per  month. 

JACKSON,  TRANSYLVANIA  AND  MACON  COUNTIES. 

The  gold  of  Jackson  county  has  been  obtained  almost  entirely 
from  placers  or  detrital  beds.  These  are  situated  chiefly  along 
the  southern  slopes  of  the  Blue  Ridge,  near  Hogback  and  Chimney 
Top  mountains. 

The  most  important  locality  is  Fairfield  valley,  where  George- 
town creek,  one  of  the  head  streams  of  the  Toxaway,  is  said  to  have 

13 


192 


GOLD  DEPOSITS  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


yielded  between  two  and  three  hundred  thousand  dollars.  The 
deposits  extend  for  several  miles  along  these  elevated  basins,  and 
have  been  by  no  means  exhausted.  The  origin  of  the  gold  here  is 
doubtless  to  be  sought  in  the  quartz  veins  of  the  Blue  Ridge,  which 
rises  on  the  north  and  east — a precipitous  wall  of  gray  gneiss — to 
a height  of  700  or  800  feet  above  the  valley.  It  is  along  the  base 
of  this  wall,  where  Georgetown  creek  has  cut  a deep  channel,  that 
the  gold  has  been  principally  obtained. 

The  deposits  in  Transylvania  county,  east  of  the  Blue  Ridge, 
on  the  headwaters  of  the  French  Broad,  will  probably  be  found 
to  have  a similar  origin,  and  are  evidently  a continuation  of  the 
same  belt  of  deposits. 

In  the  southeast  corner  of  Macon  county,  in  Wliitener’s  valley 
and  Horse  cove,  mining  for  gold  has  been  carried  on  to  a limited 
-extent  in  the  stream  deposits. 

CHEROKEE  COUNTY. 

Possibly  twenty-five  to  fifty  men  may  be  employed  in  actual 
mining  operations  in  this  county,  working  some  half  a dozen 
placers. 

The  gold  obtained  is  mostly  in  the  form  of  large  grains  and 
nuggets.  The  greater  part  thus  far  won  appears  to  have  come 
from  the  valleys  of  Valley  river  and  its  transverse  tributary 
streams.  The  immediate  source  of  this  gold  is  four  fold: 
(1)  The  gravel  underlying  the  broad  bottoms  of  Valley  river  and 
other  streams  ; (2)  The  schists  and  the  included  quartz  stringers 

or  veins  of  the  more  elevated  country  bordering  these  valleys. 
(3)  The  iron  ore  beds,  which  skirt  Valley  river  along  its  whole 
length,  and  occur  with  several  reduplications  or  foldings  at  inter- 
vals for  several  miles  to  the  east (I)  The  limestone  (marble), 
which  is  usually  closely  associated  with  the  iron  ore  beds,  and 
contains  gold  in  connection  with  galenite  and  possibly  also 
in  quartz  veins,  that  traverse  it. 

These  rocks  have  lately  been  referred  to  the  Ocoee  by  the  II. 
S.  Geological  Survey. 


1 Cor  au  account  of  these  ore  beds,  see  Bulletin  No.  1.  Geological  Survey  of  N.  C.:  The 
Iron  Ores  of  North  Carolina,  p.  1E6  et.  seq. 


CHEROKEE  COUNTY. 


193 


The  placer  mines  now  worked  are  situated  in  the  drift  which 
covers  the  spurs  and  terminal  ridges,  especially  where  they  pro- 
ject into  the  bottom  land.  Ditches  are  constructed  to  bring  the 
water  from  the  upper  reaches  of  the  mountain  streams,  under  a 
sufficient  head  to  operate  at  the  desired  points.  The  drift  beds 
have  a depth  of  10  to  20  feet,  and  are  occasionally  at  a consider- 
able elevation  above  the  river. 

The  schists  have  not  been  largely  prospected,  and  cannot  be 
utilized  without  heavy  stamping  machinery,  as,  owing  to  the 
steepness  of  the  hills  and  mountains  all  the  soft  and  altered  mate- 
rial has  been  cleaned  off  by  denudation.  The  unaltered  schists 
are  more  costly  to  mine  and  treat,  and  would  require  the  closest 
and  most  economical  management ; there  is  abundant  evidence, 
however,  that  considerable  work  of  this  nature  has  been  done  on 
the  hill  and  mountain  sides.  There  are  no  data  in  possession  of 
the  survey  defining  the  width  and  extent  of  the  gold  bearing 
schists,  nor  the  number  of  such  zones. 

The  iron  ore  (limonite)  beds  have  not  hitherto  been  regarded 
generally  as  gold  bearing,  but  some  examinations  point  to  a 
presumption  that  they  are  frequently  auriferous.  Assays  of 
a number  of  samples  ran  from  $1.86  to  $10.60  per  ton.  The  pos- 
sibilities in  this  direction  deserve  further  examination. 

Gold  also  occurs  in  the  marble  in  association  with  galenite. 
Such  localities  are  : Section  No.  6,  1 mile  northeast  from  Mur- 

phy ; at  Axel’s  shaft  near  Marble  creek,  3J  miles  northeast  of 
Murphy  ; and  near  Marble  post  office. 

Some  samples  of  the  ores  from  Section  NTo.  6 gave  the  follow- 
ing assay  values : 

Assays , Gold  Ores , Section  No.  6,  Cherokee  County. 

(342)  (343)'  (344) 

Gold,  per  toil $ 7-03 $ 43.02 $ 14.88 

Silver,  “ i... trace 10 i9.20 

$7.03  $13.12  $34.08 

So  little  attention  has  been  given  to  these  occurrences  that  the 
extent  of  the  resources  is  practically  unknown,  but  they  certainly 
appear  to  be  worthy  of  more  thorough  exploration. 


INDEX. 


PAGE. 

Aberdeen  mine 115 

Abernathv  mine,  Catawba  county 151 

Abernathy-  mine,  Mecklenburg  county 132 

Age  of  rocks,  Carolina  Slate  Belt 28 

ore  deposits,  Carolina  slate  belt. . 51 

Alamance  county,  mines  in 53 

Alexander  mine 132, 139, 140, 143 

Allen  mine 116 

Allen  Furr  mine 91,  93,  94 

Aired  mine 55,56 

Alta  mine 169  170 

Anson  county,  mines  in 106 

Appalachian  mine 76 

Area  of  the  gold  bearing  rocks  In 

North  Carolina 15 

Arlington  mine 132,  133 

Arrington  mines 27 

Asbury  vein 149 

Ashe  county  mines 180 

Atlas  mine 120, 121 

Auriferous  schists,  defined .21 

Axel’s  shaft,  Cherokee  county,  gold  at... .193 

Bailey  mine 106 

Baker  mine 175, 177 

Bald  Knob  mine 177 

Ball  mine 116 

Baltimore  & N.  C.  Mining  Co 143 

Bame  mine 120, 121 

Barnhardt  mine,  Cabarrus  county 123 

Barnhardt  vein,  Gold  Hill 87,  88 

Barrier  mine 122, 123 

Barringer  mine, 85 

Bascom,  Miss  Florence,  cited 37,  38 

Bates  (1),  quoted 105 

Beard  mine 116 

Beason  mine 116 

Beaver  mine 144 

Beaver  Dam  mine 78,  79 

Bechtler  coinage  in  North  Caro- 
lina  153, 154 

Becker,  Geo.  F.,  cited 47,  49 

Bee  Mountain  mine 178 

Belle  mine 54,  55 

Belts  of  gold  bearing  rocks  in  North 

Carolina 15 

Bennett  mine 132 

Biggers  mine ...91,  94 

Black  mine,  Davidson  county 117 

Black  mine,  Mecklenburg  county 144 

Black  mine,  Union  county 98,  99 

Blair  mine 144 

Blake  mine 125 

Blue  Wing  mine 53 

Bonnie  Belle  mine 35,  45,  103,  104 

Boundaries  of  the  N.  C.  gold  fields 15 

Boylston  mine 181, 191 

Boylston  Mining  Company 182 

Brafford  mine. 144 

Brawley  mine 132 

Brewer  mine,  S.  C 16 

Bright  mine 80 

Briols  shoot 57 

Brown  mine 56 

Brown  Mountain,  rocks  of 156 

Brown  Mountain  mine 175 

Bryan’s  Gap,  gold  at 179 

Buckeye  mine 53 

Buffalo  mine 45.  91,  93 

Bullion  mine 117,  120 

Buncombe  county,  gold  in 181 

Bunnell  Mountain  mine 80 

Burke  county,  mines  in 164. 166,  175 

Burns  mine 45,  48,  49,  55,  56 


PAGE 

Burrell- Wells  mine 149 

Burton  mine 150 

Butler  mine 151 

Butterfield  mine 98 

Cabarrus  county,  mines  in...  .85, 89,  94,121,125 

Cabin  Creek  Mining  Co.. 56 

Cagle  mine 56 

Caldwell  county,  mines  in 175,  178 

Caldwell  mine 143 

Caledonia  mine 147, 148 

California  mine 123 

Callahan  Mountain  mine 151 

Campbell  mine 132 

Campbell  Mining  & Reduction  Co 116 

Capps  mine 19,132,137 

Carolina  Igneous  belt 15, 19  107, 145 

general  description 107 

geologic  characteristics 107-108 

ore  deposits  and  mines  of. .108-145 

fineness  of  gold  in 19 

Carolina  Queen  mine, 164. 165 

Carolina  Slate  belt, .15,19,28-106 

character  and  age  of  the 

rocks 28-44 

genesis  of  the  gold  ores 44-50 

age  of  the  ore  deposits 51 

mines  and  ore  deposits  of..52-106 

fineness  of  gold  in 19 

Carpenter  mine 174 

Carson  mine. 125 

Carter  mine 80 

Catawba  county,  mines  in 150,  151 

Catawba  mine 146, 147 

Cathey  mine 132, 141 

Cathey  (G.  C.)  mine 139 

Causes  of  formation  of  fissures  in  Caro- 
lina Slate  belt 45,  47 

Chapman  mine 139,  140 

Character  and  age  of  rocks  in  Carolina 

Slate  belt 28 

Character  and  Fineness  of  gold  and  sil- 
ver in  N.  C 18 

Charlotte  mine 129, 130, 131 

Chatham  county,  mines  in 53 

Cherokee  county,  gold  deposits  in 192, 193 

Chimney  Top  mountain,  gold  on 191 

Chlorination  process— advised  at  Gold 

Hill 90 

at  Reimer  mine..  119 

at  Phoenix  mine..  122 

at  Tucker  mine 123 

Cid  mine 60 

Clark  mine. 125, 132 

Clegg  mine 56 

Coggins  mine 76 

Conrad  Hill  mine 68  -74 

Conyers  mine 27 

Copper  Knob  mine 18,  180,  181 

Copper  ores  of  Chatham  county 53 

Copper  ores  in  Granville  and  Person 

counties 52,  53 

Copper  World  mine 53 

County  Line  mine 151 

Crawford  Gold  Mining  Company 83 

Crawford  mine 82,  83 

Crosby  mine 125 

Crowders  Mountain  mine 147,  148 

Crowell  mine,  Stanly  county, 84,  85 

Crowell  mine.  Union  county 94.  95 

Crump  mine 98 

Crustiflcation  phenomena  in  the  Caro 

lina  Slate  belt 49.  50 

Curtis,  cited 47 


196 


INDEX. 


PAGE. 

Cyanide  process- proposed  at  Burns  mine.  56 


proposed  at  Russell  mine 76 

plant  at  Mora  took  mine >-0 

experiments  at  Gold  Hill 90 

Dahlonega  mining  method,  in  the  East- 
ern Carolina  belt 25 

at  the  Parker  mine ...84 

applicability  to  Jones  mine 59 

Shuford  mine 150 

in  South  Mt.  region 1B1 

Darlington  (Wayne),  quoted 91 

Davidson  county 00-74;  116, 117 

Davidson  mine,  Davidson  county 60 

Davidson  mine,  Mecklenburg  countv, 

125,  126 

Davie  county,  mines  in 151 

Davis  mine,  Halifax  county. 27 

Davis  mine,  Montgomery  county 76,  77,  80 

Davis  mine,  Union  county 19.  100, 102 

Davis  Mountain  mine. 59 

Deep  Flat  mine 80 

Deep  River  mine 115 

Delft  mine .59 

Deposits  of  gold  and  silver  at  the  U.  S. 

Mint  and  Assay  Offices 18 

Derr  mine 148 

Designolle  process  at  New  Discovery 

mine 117 

near  Charlotte 137 

Diabase  dikes  in  the  Carolina  Slate 

belt 46,  47 

Dikes,  diabase,  in  the  Carolina  Slate 

belt.  46,  47 

Dikes,  influence  of  on  ore  bodies 48 

Dixon  mine  (Yadkin  eo.) 151 

Dixon  vein  (Gaston  co.) 149 

Double  Branch  mine 20, 174 

Dry  Hollow  mine 80 

Duffie  mine 148 

Dunkin  ( Winney)  opening 191 

Dunn  mine 16,  132,  140 

Dunn’s  Mountain  mine 117,  118 

Dutch  Creek  mine 120 

Dutchman’s  Creek  mine. 80 

Dutton  mine ...76,  77 

Eames  (Richard,  Jr.)  quoted 90, 151 

Early  records  of  gold  mining  in  North 

Carolina 16 

Earnhardt  vein.  Gold  Hill 87,  88 

East  Hill  mine.. 103 

Eastern  Carolina  belt 15, 19,  24-27 

general  description 24.  25 

minerals  and  gold  deposits  in.. .25-27 

fineness  of  gold  in 19 

Ellington  vein 144 

Elliotte  plantation .145 

Ellwood  mine  (Rutherford  co.).... 170 

Ellwood  vein,  (Mecklenburg  co.) 142 

Emmons,  E.,  cited  and  quoted, 

28-3.',  38-41,  52,  69,  90, 112,  115 

Emmons,  S.  F.,  cited 47 

Emmons  mine 60 

England  mine 150 

Estimate  of  production  of  gold  and  sil- 
ver in  N.  C 18 

Eudy  mine 116 

Eureka  mine 117 

Eva  Furr  mine 91 

Faggart  mine 123 

Fahlbands 45 

Faires  (Ferris)  mine 141, 142 

Fairfield  Valley,  gold  in 191 

Farrar  mine. 149 

Faulting  in  the  Carolina  Slate  belt ....46 

Fentress  mine Ill,  112 

Ferguson  Hill  mine 144.  145 

Ferris  (Faires)  mine 141.  142 

Fineness  of  gold  and  silver  in  N.  C 18-20 

First  authentic  find  of  gold  in  N.  C 16 

Fisher  Hill  mine 110,  111 

Flint  Knob  mine 178, 179 

Folger  Hill  mine 100. 102 

Fox  Hill  mine 9S,  99 

Francis  mine 177 

Frank  Wilson  mine 125 


PAGE. 

Franklin  county,  gold  in 24 

Frazer  mine, 132 

Furness  mine 123 

Gap  Creek  mine 180.  181 

Gardner  Hill  mine 112  114 

Gaston  county,  mines  in 146-149 

Genesee  Gold  Mining  Company 78 

Genesis  of  gold  ores  in  the  Carolina  Slate 

belt 44.  45,  51 

Genth.  (F.  A.)  quoted 65,  97 

Geologic  Characteristics  of  the  Carolina 

Igneous  belt 107.  108 

Georgetown  creek,  gold  on 191 

Gibb  mine 123 

Gibson  mine 132. 133 

Gillis  mine 53 

Gold,  fineness  of 18,20 

Gold,  production  of  in  X.  C 17.  18 

Gold  bearing  rocks  of  North  Carolina. 20.  21 

Gold  deposits,  west  of  Blue  Ridge 180 

Gold  Hill  mines 19,  85  91 

Gold  Knob  mine 120 

Goodman  mine 117 

Graham  mine 150 

Granville  county,  mines  in 52.  53 

Guilford  county,  mines  in 110-116 

Hague,  Arnold,  cited 47 

Haile  mine.  South  Carolina 34.48 

Haithcock  mine 82 

Halifax  county,  gold  mines 24 

Hamilton  mine,  Anson  countv 106 

Hamilton  mine,  Polk  county 174 

Hancock  mine 20. 164 

Harbin's  mine 80 

Hard  Hill  vein 144 

Harkness  mine 100,  103 

Harland  mine 116 

Harrison  mine 117 

Hartmann  mine 117 

Hayes  mine 132 

Haynes  vein 120 

Hearne  mine 82 

Heinrich,  O.  J.,  quoted 89,  90 

Hembv  mine 100.  103 

Henderson  county,  mines  in 181  191 

Henderson  mine 141 

Henry  Phifer  mine 98 

Herring  mine 59 

Hill  mine 117 

Hipps  mine, 132 

Historical  notes 16 

Hodges  Hill  (Or  Hodgins  mine 110 

Hodge  property 165 

Hogback  Mountain,  gold  on 191 

Hoke,  Gen.  R.  F.,  quoted 175 

Hoke  mine 150 

Holloway  mine - 53 

Ifoltshauser  mine 120 

Hoover  Hill  mine 37,  40,  41,  56.  57 

Hopewell  mine 139 

Howell  mine 125.  131 

Howie  mine 19.  45,  46,  48,  49,  103, 104 

Hunnicut  vein.  Gold  Hill 87,  88 

Hunt.  T.  S„  cited 38 

Hunt  and  Douglas  process. 60,  73.  74 

Hunter  mine 143 

Hunter  (Jno.  P.),  mine 142 

Huronian  system  (according  to  Kerr  in 

N.  C - - 32.33 

Idler  mine 169. 170 

Incrustation  phenomena  in  Cai'olina 

Slate  belt 49,  50 

Influence  of  diabase  dikes  on  ore  bodies,  48 
Influence  of  weathering  agencies  on  ore 

bodies - - 22 

Ingram  mine S2,  83 

Isaac  Allen  mine 151 

Isenliour  mine,  Cabarrus  county 91 

Isenhour  mine,  Meckleubitrg  county, 

125.  131 

Island  Creek  mine 80 

Jacks  Hill  mine - 115 

Jackson  county,  gold  deposits  in 191. 192 

Jesse  Cox  mine ...106 

Joel  Reed  mine - - 121 


INDEX. 


197 


PAGE. 

Johnson  mine — M4 

.Jones  mine 36,  40,  41, 57-59 

Jura  Trias  conglomerates 21 

Kearney  mine 27 

Keith.  (Arthur)  cited 164 

Kemp,  J.  F„  cited -47 

Kerns  mine 139 

Kerr,  W.  C„  quoted 32,  33,  38,  41  68 

Ke\  stone  mine 57,  59 

Kindley  (Wilson)  mine 57 

Kings  Mountain  belt 15, 146-151 

Kings  Mountain  mine 18,  146,  147 

Lafflin  mine 59 

Lalor  mine 116 

Dauder  mine 116 

Leeds  mine 170 

Lemmonds  mine 97 

Lewis  mine 100, 103 

Lincoln  county,  mines  in 150 

Lindsay  mine 115,  116 

Loftin  mine 117 

Long  mine 95 

Long  Creek  mine 149 

Low’d er  mine.  82 

Lower 'Laconic  series,  according  to  Em- 
mons  : - 30,  31 

Louisburg  granite 24 

Marble  P.  0.,  Cherokee  county,  gold  at... 193 

Marble  creek,  gold  on 193 

Macon  county,  gold  deposits  in 191,  192 

Maclntire  mine 174 

Magazine  mine 165 

Mann  mine —.27 

Mann- Arrington  mine 26,  27,  36,  45 

Manuer  of  filling  the  fissure  openings  in 

the  Carolina  Slate  belt 47,  51 

Marion  mine 97 

Marion  Bullion  Company 166,  167.  168 

Marsh,  Prof.,  cited  and  quoted 39, 40 

Mastodon  mine -53 

Maunev  mine 91 

ilaxwell  mine 144 

McCarter  Hill  vein 149 

McCorkle  mine,  Catawba  county 150 

McCorkle  mine, Mecklenburg  county. .132. 141 

McCullough  mine 114, 115, 116 

McDonald  mine 125 

McDowell  county,  mines  in 166-169 

McGee  mine 132 

McGinn  mine 132,  137,  138 

McLean  mine 148 

McMakin  vein,  Gold  Hill 18,  87.  89.  9il 

Means  mine 132,  138, 139 

Mears  chlorination  process 122, 123 

Mecklenburg  county,  mines  in 125  146 

Miller  mine 175, 176 

Millis  Hill,  mine 110,  111 

Mills,  (L.  A.)mine 174 

Mills,  (J.  C.)  property 20,  165. 166 

Mines  in  the  Eastern  Carolina  belt 25  27 

in  the  Carolina  slate  belt 52-107 

in  tlie  Carolina  Igneous  belt,. .110-145 

in  the  Kings  Mountain  belt 146-151 

in  the  South  Mountain  belt 

164-170,  173-179 

west  of  the  Blue  Ridge 15, 180  193 

Monarch  mine 169. 170 

Monroe  slates 21. 36,  37,  45, 82,  83 

Montgomery  county,  mines  in 74  82 

Montgomery  mine 121 

Moore  county,  mines  in 54-56 

Moore  mine 45,  49.  95,  96 

Moore  Hill  mine 100.  102 

Moratock  mine 37  38,  79,  80 

Morrison  mine 125 

Morris  Mountain  mine 76 

Murphy,  gold  near 193 

Nash  county  mines 24 

Native  silver  in  North  Carolina 18 

Nature  of  Ore  deposits  in  Carolina  Slate 

belt 44,  45 

Neal  mine,  Mecklenburg  county 132, 133 

Neal  mine,  Polk  county 174 

Negus  mine 117 


PAGE. 

New  Discovery  mine 117 

New  Gold  Hill  Company 90 

New  South  mine 98 

Newark  conglomerate 21 

Nick  Arrington  mine 27 

Nolan  mine 143 

Nordenskjold,  cited 37 

North  Carolina  mine Ill,  112 

North  State  mine 19, 114-116 

Nugget  mine 91.94 

Ocoee  formation 184, 192 

Old  Field  veins,  Gold  Hill 87,  88 

Old  Miller  mine 177 

Oliver  mine 16, 149 

Open  Cut  Copper  vein.  Gold  Hill 87 

Op i Mr  mine 80 

Orange  county,  mines  in 53 

Ore  Deposits,  Eastern  Carolina  belt 25,  27 

Carolina  Slate  belt 52-107 

Carolina  Igneous  belt. .108-145 
King’s  Mountain  belt.  146-151 
South  Mountain  belt, 

164  170.  173-179 

west  of  the  Blue  Ridge, 
15, 180,  193 

Ore  Hill,  Union  county 46,  103 

Paleotrochis 29,  30,  33,  38,  39 

Parish  mine 40,  41,  59 

Parker  mine,  Cherokee  countv 16 

Parker  mine,  Stanly  county,. . 36,  40, 50,  83.  84 

Parks  mine 125, 182 

Patterson  mine,  (Gaston  count' ) 148 

Patterson  mine,  (Orange  county) 53 

Hattie  Abrams  mine 174 

Pax  Hill  mine 175, 17b 

Pear  Tree  Hill  mine SO 

Person  county,  mines  in 52.  53 

Phifer  mine 19,  46, 100, 102.  103 

Phillips,  Win.  B.,  cited ...185 

Phoenix  mine 19,  LI,  122 

Piedmont  Mineral  Company,  Ltd 166 

Pioneer  Mills  mine 125,  144 

Plattner  Chlorination  process 123 

Poiut  mine 125, 126 

Polk  county,  mines  in 20,  173,  174 

Ponder  mine 174 

Pool  mine 53 

Poplan  mine 125 

Poplin  mine 144.  145 

Portis  mine 19.  25,26,50 

Posepny,  cited ' 46,  47,  49 

Price  mine 102, 103 

Prim  mine 132 

Prince  mine 174 

Producti"ii  of  gold  and  silver  in  North 

Cai-olina 17, 18 

Quaker  City  mine 123 

Quartz  fissure  veins,  classified 21 

Raleigh  vein Ill 

Raudleman  mine 117 

Randolph  county,  mines  in 56-60 

Randolph  vein,  Gold  Hill 87,  88 

Ray  mine 143,  144 

Red  Springs  mine 174 

Reed  mine 19,  124 

Reimer  mine 117,  118 

Reynolds  mine 80 

Rhea  mine 144 

Rhodes  mine 148 

Rhyne  mine 148 

Riding  mine 174 

Riggon  Hill  mine 77 

Roaring  river,  placers 179 

Robeson  mine 53 

Robinson  mine 148 

Rocky  River  mine 45,  91,  92,  93 

Rogers  mine L5 

Roseman  mine 117 

Rowan  county,  mines  in 85,  1 17-121 

Royster  mine 53 

Rudisil  mine 19,  125, 129 

Rufty  mine 151 

Rumfeldt  mine 148 

Russell  mine 35,  45,  74-76 


198 


INDEX. 


PAGE. 


Rutherford  county,  mines  in 20,  169. 170 

Sam  Christian  mine 37,40,  80  82 

Saunders  mine 77 

Sawyer  mine 59,  60 

Scott  Hill  mine 175,  176 

Secrest  mine 98, 100 

Section  No.  6,  Cherokee  county,  occur 

rence  of  gold .193 

Sericite  schists 35 

Shaffer  mine 144, 145 

Shuford  mine 150 

Shuford  (A.  D.)  mine 150 

Silver  Hill  mine 41,  61,  66 

Silver  Valley  mine 37.  38,  41,  62,  66,  68 

Silver,  native  in  North  Carolina Va 

Silver,  production  of  in  North  Carolina, 

17,  18 

Simpson  mine 144 

Slack  mine 59 

Slates  and  schists  of  the  Carolina  Slate 

belt 33, 106 

Sloan  mine 132, 139 

Smart  mine 98,  99 

Smitli  mine,  Davidson  county 68 

Smith  mine.  Yolk  county 174 

Smith  and  Palmer  mine 125,  131 

South  Mountain  belt 15,  20,  152  180 

areas  still  available  for  min- 
ing  ... 170, 171 


conclusions  and  recommenda 
tions  as  to  mining  operations 


170  173 

deep  mining  in 173 

disposition  of  tailings 172 

distributionof  placer  deposits  162 
distribution  ot  quartz  veins 
159,  160 

fineness  of  gold  in 20 

general  description 152 

geology  and  petrography.154-158 
gold  bearing  quartz  veins  158, 159 
gold  deposits  and  mines  of. 164-170 

gold  placer  deposits 161, 162 

histoi'ical 153,  154 

improvement  of  water  con- 
duits  171, 172 

improvement  in  working 

methods 171 

method  of  working  placer  de- 
posits  163 

method  of  working  quartz 

veins 160, 161 

mines  of 164-170 

monazite  deposits  in 172, 173 

topographic  features  of.. .152,  153 

treatment  of  clay  balls 171 

value  of  placer  deposits.. .162,  163 

value  of  quartz  veins 160 

water  supply  for  placer  min- 
ing  163,164 

Southern  Belle  mine 117 

Spaces  of  dicission 46 


PAGE. 

Spanish  Oak  Gap  mine 80 

Splaw  n mine 20, 174 

Springhope,  gold  deposits  near 27 

Standard  vein.  Gold  Hill 87.  88 

Stanly  county,  mines  of 82.  85 

Statistics  from  U.  S.  mint 18 

St.  Catherine  mine 125. 129-131 

Stnel  mine 77,  78 

Stephen  Wilson  mine 132. 133 

Stewart  mine 19.  35,  96.  97 

Stinson  mine 144 

Structure  ot  the  ore  deposits 21.  22 

Surface  Hill  mine 144. 145 

Taconic  system  In  N.  C 28-32 

Talc,  talcose,  talcoid  schists 34 

Taylor  mine,  Halifax  county 27 

Taylor  mine,  Mecklenburg  county. ...125, 131 

Telluride  of  gold  at  Kings  Mt.  mine. IS 

Tl.'es  chlorination  process 122 

The  mas  mine 24,  27 

Thomas  Hemby  mine 98 

Todd  mine 132. 133 

Tom  Arms  mine 174 

Tom’s  Creek  mine 80 

Toxaway  river,  gold  on 191 

Transvlvania  county,  gold  deposits.  191.  192 

Trap  Hill,  gold  near 179 

Troutman  mine,  Mecklenburg  county...  132 

Troutman  mine.  Gold  Hill 18,  87-89 

Tredinick  mine 143T 

Trotter  mine 125,  131,  132 

Tucker  mine 123 

Twin  mine Ill 

Uharie  mine 60 

Union  county,  mines  in 94-106 

Upper  Taconic  series  of  rocks 31,32 

Valley  river,  gold  in 192 

Vaullise,  Prof  , cited 44 

Vein  Mountain  property 20,  168, 169 

Vickery  mine 116 

Volcanic  rocks.  Carolina  Slate  belt 37-43 

Warren  county  mines 24 

Washington  mine,  (Union  couuty) 104 

Watauga  county,  occurrences  of  gold  in. 181 

Welborn  mine 68 

Wetherbee  mine 174 

White  Bank  mine 165 

Widenhouse  mine 91 

Wilkes  county,  mines  in 178.  179 

Williams  (Dr.  Geo.  H.)  cited 37.  41 

Wilson,  (A.  J.)  mine 144. 145 

Wilson,  (Frank)  mine 125 

Winningham  mine 59 

Winney  Dunkin  opening 191 

Winston  mine 60 

Woodward-Hedgepai  h tract,  placer  min- 
inp'af  ..  27 


ing  at 2i 

Worth  mine 80 

Yadkin  county,  mines  in 151 

Yadkin  mine 117 

Yancey  mine 52,  53 


ERRATA. 


Page  26,  first  line,  also  in  30fch  line  “Sturgess”  should  read 
“ Sturges.” 

Page  48,  twentj-seeond'line,  read  “favorable”  in  place  of  “ favor  - 
ble.” 

Page  52,  second  line  from  bottom,  “course”  instead  of  “ course.” 
Page  53,  fourth  line  from  top,  period  (.)  instead  of  comma  (,  ) 
after  “seams.” 

Page  55,  first  line,  new  paragraph  should  begin  with  : “ In  the 

northwestern.” 

Page  55,  ninth  line,  read  “ leased  ” instead  of  “ land  ” 

Page  58,  first  line,  read  “ sulphurets  ” instead  of  “ suiphurets.” 
Page  58,  in  assay  No.  22,  the  total  should  read  “ S3. 13  ” in  place 
of*  “ $3.10.” 

Page  61,  sixteenth  line  from  top,  “known  ” instead  of  “know.” 
Page  64,  sixteenth  line,  the  semicolon  ( ; ) should  be  a colon  ( : ). 
Page  68,  tenth  line  from  bottom.  “ data”  instead  of  “ deta.” 

Page  72,  fourth  line  from  bottom,  read  “ surface  ” instead  of 
“ surfice.” 

Page  74,  sixteenth  line  from  bottom,  “ ef”  should  be  “ of.” 

Page  75,  first  line,  after  “ J ” read  “ inch.” 

Page  77,  twenty-first  line  from  bottom,  “ Uharrie  " should  be 
“ Uharie.” 

Page  85,  bottom  line,  “ Stanley  ” should  be  “ Stanly.” 

Page  93,  sixth  line  from  top,  “branches”  should  be  “ bunches.” 
Page  94,  fifteenth  line,  for  “ examination  ” read  “ examinations.” 
Page  101,  the  scale  should  be  “ f inch=l  mile  ” not  “ 3 inches=l 
mile.” 

Page  102,  sixteenth  line  from  top,  “ the  ” should  be  “ the.” 

Page  110,  twelfth  line,  read  “ eastern  ” in  place  of  “ western." 
Page  122,  sixteenth  line  from  bottom  “ exstraction  ” should  be 
“ extraction.” 

Page  129,  assay  No.  166,  should  be  read  “$27.70  ” instead  of 
“$28.70.” 


I 


200  ERRATA. 

Page  130,  assay  No.  180  should  read  “ $56.89  ” insti 
“ $56.87.” 

Page  130,  third  line  from  bottom,  instead  of  “ concentrates  ” . 

“ concentrated.” 

Page  131,  fifteenth  line  from  top,  “indicate”  should  be  “ ina 
cates.” 

Page  131,  assay  No.  196,  the  total  should  be  “$5.56”  in  place  of 
“ $5.46.” 

Page  138,  the  copper  listed  under  assay  No.  216  belongs  under 
No.  215. 

Page  142,  the  copper  listed  under  assay  No.  243  should  be  under 
No.  244. 

Page  165,  fifth  line  from  bottom,  read  “ obtained  ” instead  of 
“ obtainded.” 

Page  171,  fifth  line,  “ or  ” is  repeated  unnecessarily. 


